Because Family Matters
by scribbler123
Summary: He may not always say it, and might try to hide it because frankly, it's a little embarrassing. But Chase loves his family. Really. They may not always see eye to eye, but they're always there for each other, always. A collection of one shots capturing Chase's relationship with his crazy, wonderful, loud, bright bionic (and Dooley) family. Trials, tribulations and overall fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi people of the internet, I'm not really sure how many of you are going to read this (in regards to both this story and this A/N) but I guess I'm writing and sharing and hopefully connecting with new people- so that's the main thing, right?**

**And if people read and like what I'm writing than that's a huge bonus :)**

**So umm...I don't own Lab Rats, this is just me writing 'cuz I love it, and I love the show so I decided why incorporate both loves- then share it!**

**So this is more of the intro to my story, which will be a bunch of one shots or short fics. I remember reading that Chase was the youngest bionic and going 'wow', 'cuz I'd never really thought about it before. Then I started looking at the show in a different light and this was born.**

**Sorry if anyone is too OOC, this is sorta short (about a page) because it's the intro, but the others will be longer. **

**Enjoy and thank you for reading :)**

* * *

When Chase was younger, it was just Daddy, Bee-Bee and Adee. And he missed that, even if he'd never admit it.

Now it's just Mr Davenport, Bree and Adam. They all sound so formal, so detached, nothing like the family they once were- Okay, maybe Chase is exaggerating just a tad- but he misses the old days so much.

When Chase was small, Adam used to wake him up with a gentle shake and a singing,

"Wakey Wakey, Chasey Wasey!"

Now he's expected to wake up on his own, and if he's not up after an acceptable time there would be an alarm going off outside his tube with a smirking Adam banging on the glass. Or even just an empty lab, like everyone had forgotten about him.

When he was a little kid, Bree used to give Chase piggy backs around the lab at super-speed, she would laugh and spin him around and look adoringly at him like he was the most amazing creature she'd ever met….and she was proud of him.

He doesn't get that anymore, he's bigger than her- so no more rides around the lab- and besides, Bree's far more interested in other boys than she is her gawky, nerdy little brother. When she does pay him any attention it's to tell him to stop doing something or mocking the smarts she used to coo at,

"Wow, Chasey, aren't you just the smartest thing! Can you tell me the name of this place?" All smiles and laughs and pictures of landmarks that he'd been more than happy to memorise for her.

Sometimes it even feels like Bree isn't proud of him anymore, like she's more ashamed and even embarrassed of him. But that couldn't be right, could it?

Of course Mr Davenport changed too, no more reading story books or late night monster hunts to make sure that the lab was 100% clear of all traces of anything spooky. Now it's all about training, passing Chase the encyclopaedia instead of a "Where's Wally?" A strict routine that left no time for searching for those 'bumps in the night' and well…Sometimes Chase just feels like his dad doesn't think of him as the child he raised, but the bionic he created.

But then there are those days when he might fall asleep on the couch and his big brother would wrap a blanket around him, or, those times when he's working and his big sister would come and lean her head on his shoulder for a moment, or ruffle his hair as she passed. Even when Mr Davenport takes a moment away from building his next multi-million dollar creation to let his youngest slide into his seat and walk Chase through the next couple of steps. Just because he can see how much it makes the teenager's eyes light up.

There are the moments when Leo and Tasha, the new additions to the Davenport clan come into the equation. Like when Leo takes the blame, or helps Chase hide the blame, from when he makes a mistake because he knows that Mr Davenport is less likely to kill Leo. Or when Tasha makes him a cup of hot chocolate when he's doing his homework, even though he didn't ask, because she knows how much he likes them.

Those are the days Chase feels like his family is still a family, those moments when he's gently reminded that a family always loves each other, even if they don't always show it.

* * *

**Timidly glides back over to computer (go chair with wheels!) 'did you like it?'**

**As in are you interested in reading more? Or are you staring at your screen going 'what on Earth did I just read?'**

**********Did the OOCness make you want to run away screaming? (Even though since it's the intro I don't really know how anyone could be massively out of character. Unless I really suck that bad.**

**********I guess, yeah, what I'm really trying to say is 'did you like it, should I keep going, etc. etc. etc?'**

**I'm sort of kinda nervous now...umm...**

**Review, only if you want to though-I don't want to force you or anything-please and tell me what you think so these lovely mixed feelings of anxiety and anticipation can stop churning around in the pit of my stomach.**

**Thanks for reading, I guess I might see ya (virtually through fine art of the written word) later!**

**Oh and this intro is set before Douglas, so Chase still assumes that Donald was the one who created them.**


	2. Horror Movie (I'm Not Scared)

**Hi everyone,  
**

**Let me start this off my saying the BIGGEST thank you possible to everyone who reviewed, faved etc. I never really thought people would read this and I squealed so loud when I got my first review, so just think of how crazy excited I got when I saw I had 8. I think my mind sort of imploded and I still CAN'T STOP SMILING :) :)  
**

**Wow, this is just...wow. It's officially an emotional time for me now people, a very emotional time. I just can't believe that...wow...**

**Okay, so I don't own Lab Rats and I really hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

**WARNING: Oh, this might have some stuff in it that might be a bit disturbing to some of you, just as a warning because it's about a really freaky, graphic horror film. So yeah, sorry and you've been warned.**

* * *

_It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it is not real._

Chase kept the chant up in his mind while his eyes peaked out over the pillow at the screen. Most movies Chase watched were obviously fake, he could disprove them instantly with a bit of logic, but not this one. Adam had chosen it, obviously thinking it would be some happy camping story, but it wasn't, and clearly his brain was too slow to pick up on how truly terrifying the film actually was.

"Don't go that way!" Bree snickered at the screen, fitting- as always- into the stereotypical horror movie watchers role…you know, besides the fact that she was laughing.

It was one of those first person movies, filmed with a camera in one continuous shot, and their actors were acting so flawlessly that you could barely tell it was a movie. The budget for it all was surprisingly high at- oh who was he kidding, Chase was absolutely petrified.

Whenever he tried thinking about the facts and statistics about the film, all he could think of were those eyeless monkeys. Whenever he attempted to think about the actors and the set and all of the props, he was given a shock awakening by another piercing scream. Ouch, his ears.

"Is that girl going to scream the entire movie?" Adam questioned, oblivious to his brother's terror, whilst scooping out another handful of popcorn from the bowl.

Both his siblings were on the floor, leaning back against the couch Chase was curled up on. They made quick work of the popcorn between them. Chase refused to have any though, it looked too much like eyeballs in the sinister light that was coming off of the TV.

_It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it is not real._

This isn't scary, only a handful of them have died, and their screams only lasted a couple of minutes each, five minutes tops. They hadn't even been that creative with the villain- ooohh an old Voodoo Witch that they upset the burial grounds of- _so_ original.

"Hahaha, look at him trying to get away, I bet he's going to trip- there we go- here comes the guy with the axe in….three, two, one!" Cue another agonisingly loud scream from the TV as that poor guy was hacked at with a blunt axe.

Come on Chase, you're smart. You don't get scared by movies, you're the responsible one that consoles Adam when the cute, fluffy animal dies and convinces him that it was all fake. Why can't you do the same for yourself?

He tried scouring the screen for anything that could be picked apart by his brain, but there was nothing- even the organs looked real.

"Leo's really missing out, poor little guy- I hope his thing works out," Adam murmured, referring to earlier when Leo had seen and recognised the DVD cover, and in an atypical way, shaken his head firmly and told everyone that he had a thing to sort out before running to the refuge of his room. Smart guy.

"Hey Chase, how much blood do you think she has left?" The smiling Bree questioned, tilting her head in his direction so she didn't have to take her eyes off of the screen.

"Uh-judging off of the discolouration of her- um- flesh, I'd say-" He was cut off by the girl's final gurgled shriek before she stopped moving.

"Never mind, she's dead."

"Uh, ho-how long, um, does this ha-have left?" Chase barely got out as his eyes took in the next horror that danced across the screen.

"Oh it's still got ages to go, I got the long one," Adam replied.

Why on Earth would he get the extended version?

'_Why on Earth are you still here?'_ A gravelly voice countered. Spike.

He'd been circling angrily inside the pit of Chase's stomach ever since the movie started, obviously sensing his horror, anxiety and overall discomfort.

'_Seriously, go run off and do your stupid little homework,' _it was one of the few times Spike ever sounded almost concerned. His voice came out flat, there was no antagonism in it, no bite.

"But I can't," Chase barely breathed, so quietly that nobody else could pick it up but the one in his head, "They'd never let me live it down."

'_Well boo hoo for them. Leave maggot face, before they see you crying like a little girl,' _Chase would have argued, but he could feel the tears of fear prick at the corners of his eyes.

'…_Do you want me to handle this?'_

"No. Spike. But, uh, thanks anyway."

'_I'm serious. They can't be jerks if they're dead, or missing a tongue. Or a limb…..Or a face.' _

That made Chase wince, whether on purpose or not, Spikes words went in time with the little kid getting his face ripped off by the witch.

"No, it's okay, I just won't watch the screen," Chase muttered, raising the pillow up a tiny bit more to block the TV. He could feel Spike's presence return to its shark like circling in his gut.

You're supposed to be in charge, in control, the leader. They're not scared, are you really that susceptible and small minded that you can be ensnared so easily by a shaky camera, scripted words and fake blood?

* * *

The movie didn't seem to have that long to go, at some point the pillow had slid back down and once again Chase was entranced by the utter horror that appeared on the screen.

"Aww, Chasey, is the big bad villain too scary for you?" Bree sniggered when she caught a glance of her brother's horrified face and terrified demeanour.

Adam, who had left to go get more popcorn smiled and slid up behind Chase, latching onto his shoulder and screaming out a loud, "Ahhhhh!"

This, of course caused Chase to let out a high pitch squeal and thrash out of Adam's grip. The older bionics laughed, before they both settled down again in front of the TV screen. Well almost.

"Jeez Chase, so you look like a girl, _and_ sound like one. Are you sure we shouldn't start calling you _Miss_ Davenport?" Adam taunted.

"Don't be mean," for a second, Chase thought Bree was standing up for him, "He can't help it that his tiny baby brain can't take a wittle bit of blood."

Chase scowled, but after a while the two calmed down and continued watching the movie in silence. The youngest bionic settled down a bit more too, throwing his hands over his mouth to stop the screams since Adam had stolen his pillow. Everything was going as good as it possibly could until the movie hit the last fifteen minutes. It was the pinnacle scene for horror, blood everywhere -screams so loud the speakers almost broke- mutilated bodies riddling the ground and you finally saw the witch's dead, half skeletal face.

It was the moment where both Adam and Bree started to tense slightly, and when the lights flicked on- causing Chase to clamp his hands down even tighter over his mouth, even though his scream was still audible- they jumped too.

_Just close your eyes, it'll be okay if you just keep them closed. This isn't the witch's revenge. It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it is not real._

The TV clicked off, much to the relief of Chase and annoyance of his siblings, and a very familiar and very mad voice sounded right behind Chase's head.

"What is going on in here!?" You could tell Mr Davenport was furious when his voice shook.

He'd been on a date with Tasha, and they technically (by analysis of previous date lengths) should not be back for at least another forty-seven minutes.

"See, I told you!" Eddy's annoying voice flittered around the room.

Chase slowly opened his eyes when a firm hand clasped down onto his shoulder, but it was different from when Adam did it to scare him, this hand was more reassuring- comforting.

"Come on Mr D, we were just watching a movie," Chase saw the indignant look on Bree's face as she looked passed his shoulder and up at Donald.

"I've heard about this movie. Grown adults have left the cinema feeling visibly sick, the cases of people checking into hospitals after nervous breakdowns and the mass hysteria caused by people thinking it was all real. This is not just some movie. This is a banned movie, created by some very sick people, there is not a country in the world willing to show this to its people."

Bree and Adam looked at each other for a moment.

"Its rating goes past R. I have three questions for you," Mr Davenport said, his voice growing harsh, "One, how did you even get a copy of this?"

"I got it off some guy in a-"

"Two, why would you even think about watching it?"

"We didn't kno-"Bree tried

"It's not even that ba-" Adam attempted.

But Mr Davenport cut them off, "No, I don't want to hear it."

"But you just-"

"Three, what could possibly have possessed you to let your little brother watch it?"

This caused Bree and Adam to let their gaze drop to Chase.

"That's not fair, he's not that much younger than me," Bree tried.

"He's smart, he's fine," Adam waved it off. Chase would have taken that compliment any other day, but right he was too busy focusing on lowering his anxiety levels, heat beat and oxygen intake.

"I don't care what excuses you have, obviously he's terrified. I don't know why you didn't just," Mr Davenport let out a long sigh, "Just, go to bed. All of you, I'll talk more about it in the morning."

Bree and Adam quickly left. Chase stayed, even though Donald had moved his hand away. Tasha, who had been standing unsure in the doorway came across, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Chase nodded slightly, his eyes still locked on where the images of torture, death and destruction once were.

"I don't understand why you didn't just leave," Mr Davenport didn't sound angry anymore, but tired and exasperated.

"I just…."

_Didn't want them to think any less of me. Didn't want to give them the satisfaction. Didn't want to be the weak little brother who couldn't handle a stupid movie. _

"I just wanted to prove that I could handle it."

Donald sighed, "Okay, you've learnt your lesson. Bed."

The youngest bionic nodded fervently and scrambled up, until he looked out into the blackness of outside, realised what that meant and stopped.

"But what about the witch?"

"Honey, there is no witch."

"This is why I didn't want him watching it," Chase picked up his father whispering to Tasha, before, "There are no such things as witches."

"Scientifically speaking, there isn't any conclusive evidence stating that they don't exist."

"Doesn't matter, I'm telling you they don't," Donald spun Chase around so he was looking him in the eye, "And even if on some off chance they do, there is no way one is getting in here. Right Eddy?"

"Well…..Tasha gets in here every day, so we can't rule it out completely."

"Eddy!" Donald yelled, both for worrying his son and insulting his wife.

"I don't want to sleep in the lab, she attacks in darkness," Chase mumbled miserably, looking up at his father with a pitifully sad and scared look.

Once again Donald sighed, "Come on."

"What?" His voice was panicked, there was no way he was sleeping in the lab, Adam and Bree would taunt him until they fell asleep and then the witch would strike.

"Is he sleeping with us?" Tasha whispered.

"Yeah, I think that's the best we can do right now," Donald replied in an equally soft voice.

It took a while for it to compute, but by the time they were all in Donald and Tasha's room, it had sunk in. They weren't sending him down to the lab.

"Get in," It didn't sound like Mr Davenport's usual orders, it was more gentle, more like a suggestion.

Chase didn't question it, in fact he all but dived under the blankets and huddled under them until he became sandwiched between two figures. He slowly stuck his head out and saw Donald on one side, tinkering with his radio and Tasha on the other, reading a book by her bed side lamp.

"Go to sleep, Chase," Mr Davenport murmured, without even looking across.

He licked his chapped lips, laying his head down on the pillow, "logically speaking, there is nothing stopping the witch from still attacking."

"Logically speaking, you should shut up and go to sleep mister. Quit while you're ahead."

So he did and fell asleep, even though technically the probability of being attacked by the witch was higher considering he wasn't in a hidden lab anymore. But then probability went out the window when he felt as safe as he did now.

* * *

**What did you think? Did you think it was too unbelievable? Do you want to read more stuff like is or maybe more cutesy sibling fluff or father son fluff or little lab rat kiddie fluff? (I mean, I'm planning to do it all, it's just a matter of what you want to see next.)  
**

**Feel free to share any of your ideas for what I can do, I'd love to read them (and then write them).**

**Oh, by the way, all the chapters won't be in Chase's POV (I suppose that's sort of what it is) but they will all be about him.**

**Yeah, so, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING, review please (even if it's just a 'GOOD' or 'BAD' or 'UPDATE'...actually if you say 'BAD', can you please tell me why so I can improve?)- but I'm not forcing you to, it just makes me unimaginably happy (like I'm sure all of you other FF writers feel when you get reviews)- and I'm going to leave before I get too ahead of myself. (Jeez I'm only just starting and I'm already comparing myself to you guys, who are far more talented and experienced than me. Gosh.)  
**

** Well, Bye :)**


	3. But I'm The Baby

**Hi everyone, so I know I already updated today- but I decided to post this quick little thing. It's not my best, even though you don't really have much to compare it to, but it will be the basis of some of the other one shots I've got planned.**

**So, today I also learned that I had more reviews than I thought (cue me almost FAINTING with HAPPINESS) I realised that in my settings I was managing my guest reviews and had to approve them, so after that I had 14! OH MY GOSH, FOURTEEN! Now I've turned that setting off, and added with my other chapter I now have 21, that's right! 21!**

**My excitement levels and silent squealing have never been so intense. Thank you so much, you've all been so supportive!**

**There are a few I'd like to address, in a over-the-moon happy way: Daphrose, I think I almost died when I read your reviews, thank you so much! WOW! You had me grinning for an hour, seriously, you are just marvelous!  
**

**Daughter of athena 2000 (I hope I got your name right!)- I don't think I've ever been told that I write with grace- that just helped make my day, seriously, and you just jumped right in there and introduced yourself and were just so amazingly kind that I teared up a little. Sorry for being over emotional, I just thought you should know. **

**HowtoRiseBigTime, you're reviews were amazing and I'm working on your idea right now, you're a genius, an actual GENIUS! **

**I never realised how easy it was to make friends here, but you're all so nice and friendly and helpful and open and just INCREDIBLE!**

**I don't own Lab Rats! (This is based off the first episode and some random time after that.)**

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Practically everyone knew that Chase resented Leo when they first met. And why he did. Well, they all came up with their own conclusions as to why the young genius took an almost instant distaste to his new housemate, but they weren't really sure if they were right or not. But everyone was on the right track. Besides Leo, but he was clueless to the entire thing anyway.

Chase would never admit why either, it was far too juvenile. Chase resented Leo because Leo was a threat. Chase was, although he detested it whenever mentioned and did everything to say otherwise, the baby of the family. Until Leo came.

"Isn't this so cool, we're finally getting out of the lab!" Bree had cheered

"I can see what real pizza tastes like!" Adam added, in equal excitement.

"Yeah. Yay." Both older bionics looked across at their younger brother like he was covered in Sonic Sneeze goo again. But he didn't notice, he was too busy staring at that kid who had saved them, like he was calculating something.

Leo was young, loud and clumsy, instantly connecting with Bree and Adam. They seemed overjoyed to see another human, after they got over their initial shock…..of seeing another human.

It took a quick calculation, and there was an increasing percentage that Chase would be replaced by some outsider he'd never met. Some boy who had actually seen the things he'd only read about, and could easily slip into the role of the new baby brother. He and Mr Davenport even got along easily, Leo already nicknaming the man, even though Chase was supposed to be his favourite, not just some 'smart science experiment' he was introduced as.

"Super smart with heightened senses -is that all I am to you?" he'd muttered when everyone turned away and they couldn't see him dropped his smile. Donald heard something, but he brushed it off as he focused on his new wife and step-son.

Chase could see himself slowly being pushed aside, shunned into the shadows as the spotlight turned on this new human. And he didn't like it one bit.

But he had persevered, Leo was after all the first real person Chase had ever seen, besides Mr Davenport and his two siblings. It was all very exciting. Leo and he could be friends, maybe, if he'd just back off from his family.

"So you're really smart, right?" Chase puffed out his chest and nodded at Leo, "Math's homework must be really easy for you then."

"Homework?"

"What's 2567 divided by 934 times 36049?"

Ninety nine thousand and seventy six, point eight, five, five, four, six, zero, three-" He would have kept going but Leo had already moved over to question Adam and Bree who had 'much cooler' abilities than being a massive calculator.

Chase remembered the calculator being the small device Mr Davenport used when he was too busy to ask Chase, or he wasn't around, for number problems. He tried to work out whether it was a compliment or not.

Either way, it was easy to smile and go along with the craziness that occurred after Leo appeared. You see, Leo had still shot Chase a look of awe with eyes that screamed uncontrolled innocence and wonder, if only for a second. He'd marvelled at their powers and eaten up anything Chase or the other two said. Mainly the other two, but still. Leo had taken them to school, something he would always be so grateful for. But he changed things, even if he didn't mean to.

It was at school where Chase really noticed it. When the bell rang and his sensitive ears made it sound like a thousand canons, neither of his siblings had asked if he was okay. He had just shuffled back into Adam's legs like he always did, searching for reassurance and protection, but his brother just remained stiff and detached.

Bree muttered some explanation to Leo. But she did nothing to help.

Chase had expected Adam, at least, to do something, show some signs of comfort. But he didn't. He just walked off behind Bree and Leo. That wasn't right. Adam always, at least, ruffled his hair and Bree always asked how he was. But they didn't. Then Adam had casually swung his arm around Leo's shoulder like he'd known him for years, the new one, not his little brother. Bree barely looked at him. But that could always be chalked up as his elder siblings showing their appreciation to the new kid. Right?

It was okay, really, while alone at school he decided that the chess club was filled with like-minded people, and, he became a chiropractor in the Philippines after taking some childishly easy medical course off of one of the school's computer. So the day wasn't a complete waste.

At least Mr Davenport was still on his side, well until he made arrangements to toss Chase and his siblings away like they were nothing but the science experiments he'd told his new wife about. Not the kids he raised, not the family he'd been a part of. Chase's brain had, as always, calculated why this was suddenly happening. The only new variable was Leo and his….creator? That's as far as Chase had deduced from his brief encounter with Tasha. Without Leo they would still be in the lab, content with their world down below.

"You're sending us away?"

"Yes."

"But we're you're family."

"No, you're my experiments."

Mr Davenport had never been one to openly admit what they had become, but he had never outright called them just his 'experiments'. Were Tasha and Leo really that much better?

"Come on Chase, you'll like it over there, think of all that new technology you get to study."

"Did we do something wrong?"

"What are you talking about, Chase?"

"I'm just trying to understand how some people you just met could possibly be more important than us."

"This is for your own good, you'll thank me one day. You were never going to stay with me anyway."

_Never going to stay with me anyway._ Was he always going to get rid of them? How long had he planned this? Had he ever really loved them, or was that pretend? No. He loved them, he still loves them. This is just his way of coping, that's all, detachment. But then again, he wouldn't need to detach himself from them if he wasn't going to send them away. If he loved them enough to work something out.

It all stung.

Chase had always been the one who could talk Mr Davenport out of anything. But this time he couldn't, so he shook his head at his hopeful siblings and watched their eyes downcast as they accepted the fact that they were leaving.

They had never been out of the lab before, and now they were expected to move houses, move countries? It was all so much to take in, almost too much to accept.

But then Leo had stood up for them. Donald brushed him off too, but that didn't stop him, he kept fighting. That was when Chase realised he'd always been standing up for them, and was genuinely upset when he thought they had left. They had a group hug. Then, heck, Leo even chased after them when he thought they were going to die and attempted to save their lives.

Maybe this new kid wasn't as bad as Chase had previously thought.

* * *

It took a while, but Chase grew to like Leo, respect him. But there was a part of him that always slightly resented him for taking his siblings away from him, no matter how farfetched it sounded. Leo had disturbed the dynamics of the Davenports.

It took a little bit, but soon he couldn't tell when his giddiness for the outside world and wanting to impress people turned into genuine like for this younger boy.

(The younger boy who wasn't that much younger than Chase if he wanted to really get technical, they were both born in the same year [Chase had overheard Tasha on the phone].)

Well at least he resented him until Bree started twittering on to him again about Paris and boys and Adam began using Chase as his personal leaning post and go-to rock climbing buddy. Obviously Chase pretended it all annoyed him, but he was content. If his elder siblings had shared a knowing smile the next time Chase and Leo freely conversed, Chase didn't notice.

Chase also didn't hear Tasha coerce Davenport into taking an afternoon off to spend some time with his youngest building prototypes. He'd missed the way both adults had taken to suddenly grasp his shoulder or, in Tasha's case, smooth down his hair when he was sitting on the outside of a conversation with his siblings and new brother. All to remind him that they were there and that they noticed him.

Because even though Leo came in, Chase was still the baby of the Davenport family. Even though Leo looked up to Chase as an older brother and Chase would never admit to needing any coddling, they were both the youngest. Nobody was going to push Chase to the side, in fact everyone was content for Chase to stay exactly where he was- the little Davenport who acted like he was the biggest, liked the perks of being one of the smallest, and would never admit to doing anything but welcoming his new family members with open arms.

It also helped that after Chase was comfortable with the change, he looked back at all the love and openness Leo had given him. So maybe having a little brother was okay. (Even if Leo technically wasn't that much younger anyways.)

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**Okay, so as I said before, not my best- but it's actually the first one I wrote (even if I didn't post it first) and I feel as if I owe it to put it in the story...if that makes sense?**

**Can I just quickly say that that these last two days have made me feel incredibly STUPENDOUS? I don't think I've ever felt so HAPPY before...It's sort of sad yet...beautiful in a way.**

**Thank you all so, so much. Really. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it holds a special place in my heart (doesn't that sound cheesy?) and I've read what you guys want, kid and sibling fluff with a bit of Daddy Davenport. I'm on it, I promise.**

**Any other suggestion you have are more than welcome. Any thoughts, comments, ideas, likes, dislikes, just tell me. I'd love, love, LOVE to know :)**

**I accept single words like 'good', 'okay', 'bad'- actually, only with a reason attached, 'more', 'update', 'what?', 'no'- but why would be appreciated, 'yes' etc.**

**So thank you again (sorry for thanking you all so much) but...yeah...thanks.**


	4. Adam To The Rescue (It's Okay, Chasey)

**Hi everyone :)**

**(Notice how calm I'm being...well it's not actually me being calm- it's me in SHOCK!) Oh my gosh, when I turned on my phone this morning I almost died. Seriously, it took me so long to actually comprehend how my reviews have suddenly jumped to 34! THIRTY FOUR! **

**I'm serious. That is just...WOW...to call you guys the best would still be an insult to how magnificently SUPERB you all are :) Just...Thank you.  
**

**I don't own Lab Rats and this is from ADAM'S POV! Sorta, there's a moment where it's in Chase's POV, but not for very long- you'll know it when you read it.  
**

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**WARNING: Major OOCness. Seriously, I made Adam SMART...well not smart, but OBSERVANT with intelligent thought patterns...So I decided to put in a warning for all of you who are going to read this and go '...what? Adam's not smart -NO, IT'S ALL WRONG!' Yeah. Just a heads up...Also Chase cries... **

**I hope you enjoy regardless :)**

* * *

Something was wrong, he could tell.

Everyone always jokes that if Adam notices something, it has to be serious, but the truth is that he actually notices a lot- whether he chooses to act on it is another matter entirely. Adam isn't as dumb as he lets on. While he may not be book smart or good with words, efficient at detecting sarcasm or very knowledgeable, he makes up for it all with his keen observation skills.

He might not be able to tell you what the Earth revolves around (or what revolving even is), but he could tell you that Bree was texting that friend of hers that she could barely stand, judging off of her very animated facial expressions. Leo was next to her on the couch, trying to beat some new app, hoping that Bree would notice his struggles and help him with the speed rounds.

There was nothing particularly wrong with that picture, besides the fact that Bree needed to make new friends and Leo needed to find an easier game. It looked fairly normal- besides the fact that Chase wasn't there.

While he may not sit with them all the time, he always made his presence known- and just loved boasting about his academic achievements to Mr Davenport after school. But he wasn't. Here Mr Davenport was- massaging his neck with his head in the fridge- and there was no Chase yammering on about calculus and the radius of obscure objects.

Hopefully Adam hadn't upset him too much, you know, after shoving him into the cafeteria lady and getting him stuck with a week's detention.

But even before then, his baby brother had been acting a little strange. It was slightly disconcerting, Chase was always so predictable, and when he wasn't…It was freaky.

Sure Adam would mess with him, that's just what brothers do. He'd throw Chase across the room, Chase would call Adam dumb and they'd move on. But something was up, he always tried to stop Chase taking himself so seriously, to loosen up- but at lunch today, he was far too zoned out and so….not like the youngest Davenport.

"Hey, where's Chase?"

Bree grunted, before letting out a long (and loud) sigh and a drawled out, "I _don't_ know, the lab?"

Adam gave her a double thumbs up, oblivious to her tone.

He then made his way towards the lab, pausing to tell Mr Davenport -who had taken everything remotely unhealthy out of the fridge and was lugging it all back into his room- that the potato chips under his left arm would taste great with the soy sauce balancing on top of one of the pizza boxes on his right.

* * *

"Yo, Dork!" Adam sauntered in, expecting to receive an eye roll and a sigh from his brother.

He wasn't entirely sure what his actual plan was, or, why he was even running into the lab looking for the little brother he'd otherwise not really bother with. But something told him that he needed to find Chase- call it 'Bionic Bro's Intuition'- even though he had no clue what intuition was.

But nobody was in the lab, "Miss Davenport?" it was odd.

"Chase?" His school bag was on one of the tables, and Chase was never that far away from it, some weird nerd trait.

"…..Chasey?" Where was he?

* * *

It took Adam a while to find Chase, it was weird really, he wasn't off to the side on the computers or under any of the benches reading. In fact, Adam was about to leave when he heard a long sniff.

This led to Adam finding his baby brother, head buried between his knees, in between the yellow drums Leo had been hidden behind when they first met. The oldest bionic was uncharacteristically quiet as he knelt down next to his little brother, pausing to wonder how to go about finding Chase hidden away, crying.

"You're crying," he observed. See? Because he was observant.

Chase stuck his head up almost instantly, quickly rubbing his eyes with his shirt sleeve.

"C-cr-crying, are you kidding? N-no, I'm doing a t-test," he tried, leaning backwards when his older brother leaned in closer, trying to keep the distance so Adam couldn't get a proper look at his tear stained face. "An im-important test, and y-you're disturbing-"

But Adam was already sighing, having worked out what to do next, and pulling his brother into a hug. Chase fought it for a little bit, before clinging back tentatively.

He was embarrassed- too old for hugs- he was supposed to be super human. He was supposed to be above needing comforting, above tears. But there's a difference between 'supposed to' and 'is'. Right now Chase is upset and hurt and crying into his older brother's chest.

And boy, Adam may not know much about anything they teach in school, but he sure knows how to comfort someone, and when that person just happens to be his baby brother- it's practically second nature.

It took a fair while to get Chase to stop sobbing. Adam just sat there, holding Chase and awkwardly soothing him with quiet shushes, until he finally he calmed down.

"….I'm sorry."

Adam tried to think of what Chase could be sorry for, then he felt his brother pull away while rubbing his runny nose.

"I don't know what came over me," the brunette mumbled, standing up- well trying to- Adam held him firmly. Nobody can just cry so hysterically and expect to get away with it.

Adam relaxed his grip, so Chase was still held loosely in his arms, but not so awkwardly close. It was around this time when he noticed the sore looking bump on Chase's head and the blood coating his fist. It took a moment before Chase realised what his older brother was staring at.

"Who?" Adam was calm.

"N-no one."

"_Who?_" Or trying to be.

Chase murmured something in a voice too quiet for his older brother to pick up.

"What?"

There was a long silence where Chase was unwilling to repeat himself and Adam wasn't going to let his brother go without finding out who did this to him. Chase never fought unless he had to, somebody hurt his little brother and he'd be damned if he'd let them get away with it.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me _who_."

"…I did….."

Okay, Adam may not be the brightest, but that really didn't sound right… Obviously Chase picked up on his confused look. Adam spared him a moment of fondness, '_the smart little thing, even when he's upset his brain never stops whirring away,'_ before schooling his features again.

In the next second Chase let out a breathy sigh before elaborating, "I punched a wall and…banged my head against it too."

"…_Why_?"

Chase looked up to the ceiling. Adam was about to look up to see exactly what Chase was looking at- when he opened his mouth again. Then closed it. Then shot his older brother a helpless look before working out that there was no possible way out of this situation without telling Adam 'why'.

"….Today I got a test back, science, easy A. Or so I thought," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, Adam took it gingerly.

"A 'B'?"

"…..Do-don't rub it i-in…." Chase hiccuped, trying to stop the fresh wave of tears brimming in his eyes from overflowing. But they did, and soon the sobs were back (it was all rather sudden and alarming). Chase pressed himself back against his brother's chest, so Adam swallowed, thinking on how to comfort his sibling again.

Mr Davenport was always better in these situations, he could just spurt off some fancy statistics to make the tears go away. Heck, Bree could do a better job than Adam, like that time Chase fell over when they were alone in the lab and she went all 'Mummy Bree' on him.

'_No, Adam, this is Chasey- you've got this.'_

"What's wrong with a 'B'? That's great!" He finally grinned.

"No it's not," his brother whispered, "I th-thought I'd…."

"Get an 'A'?" He could feel Chase nod, vibrating slightly as he fought the newly formed sobs. Oh no, oops. Adam tried to think fast on his feet (not his strong point).

"Why are you getting so worked up over some dumb test?" His brother pulled his head back to look up at Adam.

Even with red rimmed eyes and wet cheeks, Chase still managed to look incredulous.

"If I c-can't get an," he paused before restarting, "I'm sup-supposed to be s-smart, but I can't even get f-f-full ma-marks on some h-high school s-sc-science test."

"So? Every test I've gotten back has told me I'm dumb. I'm not going to believe that." It didn't help for some reason, it only made Chase sob harder.

"You-you're n-not going t-t-to replace m-me, ri-right?"

"Replace you, why would anybody replace you?"

"Be-because I'm n-not-"

"You are so, _so _smart Chasey. Even a blind guy could see it, and they can't see anything," there was a slight chuckle from Chase, "Never let anyone or thing tell you otherwise- you know you're smart and that's all that really matters. And when you go off to become some Lawyer's Astronaut-"

"Ast-astronaut L-law-lawyer."

"Whatever. When you go to do that, people will look at this 'B' and think, 'hey this kid's a genius, and just think, if he got this 'B' on some super-duper hard test, just think of what everyone else got'. See?"

"…I've just never gotten a 'B' before."

"Well neither have I," Adam smiled when Chase smiled.

Chase leaned forward and just hugged Adam for a very long time, but not like before –for the comfort- but almost like he was giving his brother a wordless 'thank you'. Finally he exhaled, rubbing his eyes one last time before both boys stood.

"Thanks."

"Any time bro. Now, time for some food, I'm starving!"

"Right after I burn this," Chase murmured, reaching for his test that Adam quickly held over his head.

"It's like you weren't even listening to anything I just said. I'm keeping this, 'Chase's First B'." His brother winced at the 'B', but he'd get over it soon enough, "An _amazing_ achievement."

The youngest Davenport swallowed before slowly nodding, standing up straighter and, once again, quickly wiping his sleeve across his face, so that to the untrained eye he just looked tired.

"What do you feel like eating?"

"Tacos. So we're off to Spain, for some lovely Mexican tacos," Adam grinned as he led Chase towards the lift.

"Ummm….Shouldn't we just go to Mexico for Mexican tacos?"

"Yeah, that's why we're going to Spain, duh. Mexico's in Spain."

Chase paused, "Are you….ever planning on taking Geography?"

"Nope."

He grinned, "Then yeah, you're right- of course Mexico's in Spain. Duh." Then when they were in the lift, "…..You do know Tasha has a taco kit in the freezer, right?"

"Eh. Mexican is better, 'sides, I know where Mr Davenport keeps the helicopter keys. I can't wait to meet all of those Italian people!"

Chase opened his mouth, before closing it again. There was a short silence. If Chase was standing a bit closer than usual, Adam didn't say anything.

"…I can't believe you punched a wall-"

Chase groaned, "I was upset, okay?"

"And hit your head against it, more than once," Adam added, glancing at the bruising bump. He attempted to poke it, but Chase swatted his hand away.

"I was really, really upset."

Adam didn't miss the past tense, he smiled. Mission accomplished.

* * *

"Hey Adam?"

"Yeah Chasey?"

"We never speak of this. Ever."

"You got it," Adam agreed, pocketing the 'B' and glancing across at his younger brother one last time, before the elevator doors opened and they'd be back to the insults and fights. Chase looked across too, and they both shared a small smile.

* * *

**Hello? What did you think? Did you like it...not like it? wonder what was going on? Wonder why I have so many questions? (Oh and I'm currently writing up all of the INCREDIBLE suggestions I'm getting- so if you have one [or another one] feel free to send it across!)  
**

**Oh, I'd also like to apologise for the OOCness of both Adam and Chase. I mean (so I can give you my explanation before you decide to revolt) I made Adam observant because from the first episode he saw things the others didn't -like the 'STOP BUTTON'. As some of you guys wanted sibling bonding/fluff so I decided to show this ([it's also got a 'sister story'- Bree's sibling bonding/fluff]. I'm also currently working on an all three siblings thing and an all four siblings thing [with Leo]).  
**

** Also we all know how serious Adam got when he realised Chase was actually stuck in the capsule ;)**

**Chase's reaction is because he is SERIOUSLY SMART (and I know that if I think I'm good at something and get a BAD mark, I get upset- so I amplified that because he's way smarter and CARES so much more about work.)  
Also because:  
a. It's not like he was expecting Adam to appear, he was hiding after all- thus the tears  
b. Most people cry more when they are around family members/ loved ones  
c. In his mind, there's Hustle and Muscle and...Chase, the good old dependable smart guy. So when he's 'NOT smart' it's going to raise a few insecurities.**

**So yeah. I hope that makes sense (and if you got it already and you were wondering why I was explaining it...I'm sorry D: )**

**Thank you all so much for reading this far and reviewing and being overall such LOVELY PEOPLE! Seriously, I never realised how happy it would make me reading reviews. But it does, each one gives me a HUGE SMILE and 'small' spazz attack -where I generally silently laugh and squeal into my hands and do a little dance. WOW. I never thought I'd get ONE review, let alone THIRTY FOUR, so...THANK YOU!  
**

**(I just thought I'd add that I actually am normal, I swear!)**

**Hopefully I'll see you next chapter?**


	5. But I Wanted A Mummy

**Hi everyone,**

**Gosh, usually I would have posted a couple of hours ago (but I seem to be a little slower today for some reason).**

**Firstly I just want to say OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE 50 REVIEWS, FIFTY! THAT IS JUST SO INCREDIBLE, WOW! (Sorry about that but...WOW!)**

**You guys are all so FANTASTIC! You're reviews are all so SWEET and NICE and HELPFUL, and your ideas are ALL being worked on (I'm half way though a bullying story, a bike story and the sibling stories, I'm also working on a 'Chase gets sick story'- two people wanted more Leo, so I'm working on that too... :))**

**I don't own Lab Rats...because otherwise there would be so much sibling fluff there would literally be no room for any fighting or action at all.  
**

**Okay, so this chapter is by FAR not the best I've ever done, the plots sort of jumpy and the writing's not the best (I've proof read the spelling though, so hopefully nothing snuck through.) However, I liked it and thought it was cute :D **

**(Hopefully you do too)**

**-It's got the lab rats as kids, as well as a little Tasha and Chase moment at the end for everyone who wanted that.**

**Yeah...enjoy!**

* * *

Chase didn't get it. Adee got the race car he wanted and Bee-Bee received the doll she had been begging for after reading _Matilda_…while Chase had been handed an atlas that was thick and full of knowledge -but not what he'd asked for.

He tried not to look too disappointed, really, it was a rather lovely book after all. Perhaps he'd been a bit too ambitious with his wish list for his birthday (held on the same day as Adam and Bree for convenience. Even though, technically, he was born in November and Bree was born in January. It was always more convenient to be held in July- Adam's birth month, because it was just too big an ask to get Mr Davenport to remember three individual dates.)

"What do you think, Chasey?" Mr Davenport asked, bending down to his level, "Am I the greatest gift giver or what!"

It wasn't a question, just his dad boosting his own ego, but Chase put on a pretend smile anyway.

"Yes, thank you, I love it…" Mr Davenport beamed and ruffled his hair in an uncommon display of casual affection, before getting up and moving over to where his sister was getting acquainted with her 'new baby'.

When he was sure Mr Davenport had moved on he mumbled the second part to his answer that he didn't want to say around his father, "…..But I really wanted a mummy."

He too had read _Matilda_, but where Bee-Bee had fallen in love with the idea of having a little doll; Chase had become enamoured with the idea of having a mummy. It was the first time such an idea had been put forward in his mind, but he had already set his whole heart on it.

She would be kind and pretty, like Miss Honey. She would read him stories and sing him songs, help Mr Davenport chase away all of the scary monsters hiding in the dark and place his safely away in his capsule at night. She would be wonderful, with big smiles and warm hugs. He had even worked out the perfect formula to create the best mummy with the least amount of glitches, Bee-Bee helped him draw the picture though, making sure that her little brother got a mummy that was as beautiful as her five year old drawing skills could create.

"Is dat a mummy?" Adee questioned, wheeling his car across with little meowing noises (because they sounded much better than the silly 'vroom, vroom' noises Mr Davenport had tried getting him to make).

"No, it's an atlas."

"A wha'?"

"A book of charts, plates, or tables illustrating any subject, in this case geography," Chase allowed his dictionary function to take over, before noticing his brother's blank expression, "A book about the world."

"Like Paris?"

"Yeah."

"Bee-Bee likes Paris."

"I know."

Adee nodded in a type of affirmation before continuing to take his new car on a trip around the lab, he seemed fairly content with his brother's answer, but then again he usually was. It didn't take Chase very long to deduce that he had long ago passed both his brother and sister in intellectual development.

* * *

Bee-Bee came across next, she was clutching her little doll in one hand, with her other on her hip looking rather accusingly down at his birthday present.

"Chasey, dat's no mummy. Why don't you have one?"

"Mr Davenport decided to give me 'dis instead," Chase said, raising his atlas to show his older sister, Bee-Bee nodded thoughtfully and patted Chase rather forcefully on the head.

"It's okay Chasey-Wasey, Bee-Bee will handle dis," and with that she readjusted her grip on her doll's hand and strode rather purposefully over to Mr Davenport, who immediately saw the oncoming five year old and bent down so she could talk to him face-to-face.

They talked in hushed whispers for a while, Chase was happy to see his sister raise her finger and waggle it in Mr Davenport's face, obviously giving him a very big talking to about breaking their 'whatever you want is yours' birthday wish deal.

Eventually Mr Davenport pulled out a piece of scrap paper, wrote something quickly on it and passed it over to Bee-Bee, who then came back across to Chase.

"He'e," she shoved the piece of paper under his nose, "you're 'Mummy Promise'."

"'Mummy Promise'?"

"Uh huh, Bee-Bee said she would handle it," and with that she dropped the piece of paper in her little brothers lap and went over to Adam to convince him to let Dolly Jemima ride around inside his car.

Chase sent a cursory glance at the piece of paper, holding it up to his face so his brain had a chance to decode the letter jumble on the paper. He smiled when he was finished, noticing Mr Davenport sending him a questioning look, which his youngest returned with an enthusiastic nod.

"Bee-Bee says she's your mummy. What about me?" Adee bounded back across to his little brother, cutting off anything Mr Davenport may have decided to add to his questioning look.

"You're a boy, so you can't be a mummy, and I already have a daddy….but you could be my big brother?"

"Big brother?" Adee murmured, allowing the awe to enter his voice, "I like tha'."

Then he turned around to Mr Davenport, who was awkwardly hanging around in the background like he did every year, and shouted out an overenthusiastic, "I'm a big brother now!"

"That's….good job Adam -that's a lot of responsibility- being a big brother," Donald replied, slightly confused as to how his eldest bionic was only now working out that he was an older brother.

"Yeah, but I take care of Chasey."

"I _will_ take care of Chasey," Donald corrected, even though he knew it would go right over the child's head.

* * *

That night Adee had already broken his toy car, having accidently squeezed it too tightly, and Bee-Bee had grown bored of Dolly Jemima not responding to her, so she had placed her in the 'Naughty Corner' to work on her manners and forgotten about her.

Bee-Bee had not yet grown tired of playing 'Mummy Bee-Bee' though, she was having great fun in telling Chase what to do because 'she was his mummy and he better listen to her otherwise he'd be in big trouble'.

Adee, after asking Chase what it was, had also taken his new 'responsitility' very seriously. He had even threw one of the tables against the wall when his Chasey-Wasey had run into it and bumped his head.

"Bad table, nobody hurts my baby brother!" Adee had yelled at the now smashed table, completely oblivious to all the papers and machine parts that flew around the room when the table became airborne. Oh well, Mr Davenport could clean it up.

Both Bee-Bee and Chasey had applauded their brother's heroic actions against the mean table. After that Bee-Bee had made Chase read her and Adee a chapter of _Matilda_, because he was the best reader, and then put him in his capsule early because he had had a 'big, big day and must be sleepy'.

Chase wasn't, but his sister made a very scary mummy. Thankfully the novelty only lasted for another week before Bee-Bee seemingly forgot about being Mummy Bee-Bee (until it suited her, of course).

* * *

It was their birthday, and all three bionics couldn't help but be at least the tiniest bit apprehensive about what was going to happen. Mr Davenport had kicked them all out of the lab and was busy working on something that Eddy joyously told them they could not spy on.

"So….this morning Tasha made me the best chocolate chip pancakes with tomato sauce," Adam stated, swinging his arms around slightly as he looked across at his two siblings beside him on the couch. Obviously food was the only thing he could think of, even after being kept completely in the dark about the events down in the lab for at least seven hours.

"That's nice," Bree replied, half-heartedly.

"I know,' Chase murmured at the same time.

"Did she make you chocolate chip and sauce pancakes too?" His older brother cried out excitedly, ready to break into a conversation about their deliciousness.

"No, I told her how much you liked them."

"What? You betrayed me."

"What?" Chase questioned almost instantly, "No I didn't!"

"You gave away one of my greatest food weaknesses to _Tasha_."

"So?"

"Betrayed by my own dictionary….."

"I'm not you're dictionary."

"It's a sad, sad day for mankind, when one is turned on by their own calcula-"

"I'm not your calculator either!"

"Why does it matter, would you rather something you didn't like?" Bree stepped in, ignoring her little brother's comment, because let's face it- they all used him as a giant reference book with a built in dictionary, thesaurus, calculator and Wi-Fi system.

"No, the pancakes were awesome, but now," he glared at Chase, "somebody can use them as bribes."

"Sounds like a pretty good deal to me," the female bionic replied, before pulling out her mobile and sliding that tiny bit further away from her brothers.

They sat there for a few minutes longer, before Mr Davenport strolled into the room carrying an envelope. He stood proudly in front of the teens for a moment before his impatience got the better of him and he turned around to yell at Leo to hurry up.

Leo came sprinting into the room, carrying another envelope, followed closely by Tasha who came in empty handed. Mr Davenport looked like he was about to make a speech, Tasha looked like she was about to burst out into happy birthday, so Adam did the appropriate thing and covered Chase's ears as a precaution. Which basically meant; to stop the horrors of Tasha's singing voice or the terrible long winded and self-centred speech Donald was notorious for making on such occasions from reaching his little brother.

Leo fixed it all by clearing his throat and presenting Bree with his envelope, "Happy Birthday, Bree."

She threw her phone away (literally) and quickly snatched the envelope from Leo's hand, before carefully pulling out a card with a generic 'It's Your Birthday' message and a gift voucher for $2000 for the local mall.

"Now please don't make me regret that," Donald begged as he watched Bree stand, give a brief squeal, hug everyone (par her brothers) and run out of the room as fast as her super speed could take her.

Donald opened his mouth as if to say something, but he thought better of it and passed his envelope over to the oldest bionic, "Happy birthday."

Adam ripped it open and found, completely disregarded his card, a small stop watch inside.

"I don't get it," he finally admitted, after staring at it for close to a minute.

"Head down to the lab, Leo will show you, I've set up some human sized hamster balls for you two to race in, the stop watch is to keep track of how fast you two can complete the track."

"…There isn't that much space in the lab though….." but apparently nobody listened to logic, because everyone completely ignored Chase and continued on as if nothing had happened.

"I'm warning you, Adam, I've trained for this. You better not have had lunch, 'cuz you're going to be eating my dust!" Leo warned good naturedly, flexing his muscles to show off all of his 'training'.

"Oh you're on, Little Dude," and with that the two boys were running as fast as they could over to the elevator and down to the lab.

"And last but not least," Mr Davenport said, after the two boys were out of the room, "Chase. Happy birthday."

For a moment Chase looked expectantly up at Mr Davenport, before the man realised what he had forgotten to do and pushed his wife in front of him and before the youngest Davenport.

"Now….What do you think?" Donald asked, gleaming down at his son like he just gave him the best present in all creation.

"Uhh…of what?"

"Tasha of course," Mr Davenport frowned before he seemed to remember something else. After a moment he reached into his back pocket and pulled out an old piece of crumpled paper, before handing it to his son.

"I found this and though 'hey, why not tick that birthday wish off the list?', so I did, because I am that awesome. You can hold your thanks."

Chase glanced at the piece of paper, pausing for an extra moment to re-read it and take the information in:

_Dear Chasey,_

_IOU 1X MUMMY_

_(Until then Bee-Bee volunteers to be your mother.)_

"I remember this," Chase finally whispered, barely loud enough for the two adults to hear.

"I may not fit the exact design plans you had worked out, but I don't need to be recharged every night, so I think it all evens out in the end," Tasha laughed nervously as she looked down at the youngest bionic, a look in which Mr Davenport copied.

It took a moment for Chase to realise they were giving him a choice, he didn't need to say yes- in fact, if the hopeful yet slowly disheartened looks on their faces were anything to go by, they didn't expect him to say yes. Mr Davenport was offering him a mother and Tasha was offering herself, it was an awful lot to put on the line, the rejection could really put a strain on all parties relationships.

But then Chase decided not to think about that because it wasn't important, especially since he was already smiling and standing up to give his new 'mummy' a hug.

The youngest bionic heard two sighs of relief, then felt Tasha wrap her arms around him, it was warm- which was a good thing, because where singing skills wasn't that important- not having a warm hug was definitely a deal breaker.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Oh, and I'm sorry for 'mummy' where I live we spell mum with a 'u' instead of an 'o' (just in case you live in a place where it's an 'o' and were wondering why I misspelled 'mom' so many times.)**

**What sort of chapter are you all looking for next (I know I have a lot of ideas I need to post, but in what order do you want them, do you want more sibling fluff (specific sibling fluff), parent fluff, internal thought, Spike, bullying hurt/comfort, or, Leo and Chase (two part) where Leo 'steals' Mr D and Chase 'steals' Leo's grandma?**

**I'm not really sure, whatever you all decide.**

**So yeah, thank you all so, so, so much for being so open and welcoming and happy to share your ideas and thoughts and feedback with me :)You've all been so WONDERFULLY AMAZING and I just want to thank you one more time. Because at the moment I think I've discovered that magical little place after shock where things happen and you're just like 'I have no idea what just happened, but it's INCREDIBLE!' and you're always happy and get excited over everything...(even though I think I'm already a pretty excitable person.)  
**

**So yeah, thanks for reading and I'll hopefully see you next chapter :)**


	6. Spike's Always Up For A Fight

**Hi everyone,**

**Sorry this is a bit later than usual (about an hour or so...even though I think I'm the only one actually timing when I post...)  
**

**So, I wasn't having the best day (cough, major understatement, cough) but then I opened up this story and saw all of the review, and it just made everything so, SO much better. Thank you guys :)  
To read about how much you love this story and have such wonderful ideas and are so interested and involved in what's happening next really just helped turn my day around.  
**

**Okay, this seems way more sombre than any other A/N I've written...But yeah, seriously guys, you're ALL spectacularly incredible and amazingly in a beautiful and stupendous way :D**

* * *

**This chapter is from Spike's POV and is sort of a lead on to the bullying story I'm working on (don't worry Guest, I have a fair few chapters written up from other character's perspectives that I'm going to try and squeeze in.)**

**Also don't worry if your idea hasn't been posted, I've taken them ALL in and they will DEFINITELY be posted soon.**

**In this chapter the tense changes as he looks back on a memory, then I'm fairly certain I wrote it as present, then more memory, then present and more internal thoughts. Sort of confusing, I went over it like CRAZY hoping it would still make sense, and fingers crossed that it still does.**

**Oh and he punches someone, if that really needs a warning because, let's face it, it's Spike.**

* * *

Spike, as opposed to Chase, hates practically everyone and likes treating the world and its population like they're all personally responsible for running over his figurative dog.

He's more of a fearless soldier than his know-it-all alter-ego (because if Chase could call him his alter ego, Spike was allowed to use the flip side). He's heard Bree and Adam, the spineless losers, describe him as over aggressive, cocky, rude and violent, _scary_. Spike likes to take them as compliments, proving that he is doing his job properly.

But he still remembers the time Leo, the pint sized pustule, once called him unnecessary and tried to convince the '_genius_' man-child inventor to fix the 'glitch'. Too aggressive, too unpredictable to be used for good. Those he couldn't really take as compliments.

Instead, Spike had wanted to activate the Commando App right then and there, to rip Leo's tiny head off of his body for dare calling him a mere 'glitch' and turning to _Davenport_ like he was some wrong answer that could simply be erased.

But Chase had stopped him. He had calmed him down and politely told Leo that he was fine with Spike. Chase was always good like that. It was one of those few moments where Spike had reflected on how lucky he was being to get Chase. Especially considering practically everyone else couldn't stand him or were scared of him. It's hard trying to form any relationships with people when they've either already formed their opinions before meeting him or are a swiftly scared away by his quick temper anyways- but he couldn't help being aggressive.

Chase had gotten that though, he understood.

Most people thought Spike hated everyone, and he almost did, if it wasn't for Chase. He liked to joke that he only tolerated the short-stack, but deep down inside his coding, Spike knew that it was his job to protect him. But it wasn't his job to play big brother when that dim-witted oaf of a bionic couldn't, that was because he….cared.

Spike hadn't originally liked Chase, but over time he had grown sort-of-fond of him, even if he forced the two of them to watch boring documentaries and study instead of smash stuff. Spike supposed it's kind of hard to hate someone you share a body with and is the sole purpose for your existence.

Mr Davenport had made the right call when he made Spike, Chase gave off one of those purely geeky vibes that attracted almost all of the bullies in the vicinity. It doesn't matter that Chase knows karate and has been trained to fight much harder opponents since he could wear a headset, as soon as he enters a room it's all irrelevant. Because the scent of utter weakness that pulsates off of him, oozes from every pore of his compact little body sends out the message of 'I'm smarter than you- and I know it, I'm weak, vulnerable. I'm also cowardly, so I won't fight back, and, you can push me around any time- make me your own personal punching bag.'

And Davenport knew that, so he created Spike as the built in bully blocker, the lifetime body guard. Whenever the youngest bionic was in the face of danger, being threatened or even embarrassed too much- Spike activated to save the day.

"They're gone," Spike remembered Chase murmur under his breath, after he was sure that Leo and Donald were gone. He knew that it was easiest to calm Spike down when it was just the two of them.

"_Good." _

"Thank you for not hurting Leo," It was funny to think back on how sincere Chase had sounded.

"_If that guttersnipe steps one toe out of line-"_

"You'll dance on his grave, I know, you made me practice my tap," Spike had detected a note of almost exasperated fondness. Chase had guts, he was the only one who'd dare interrupt Spike (then again he's also the only one who could get away with it without losing a limb and shattering a bone.)

"_Damn straight I would. And enjoy it to no ends. I hate that meddling, father stealing, twerp-faced little fudge muffin."_

"HEY!"

"_What? We were both thinking it."_

There had been a distinct snort and eye roll, "I wasn't, I happen to like Leo."

"_I _totally_ believe you,"_ It had been Spike's turn to mentally roll his eyes, _"Where's your proof maggot face?"_

"….You do realise we have the same face right?"

"_Well obviously you're doing something wrong, because it works _perfectly_ on me."_

Chase had laughed. Spike wouldn't admit that it had made him smile too….almost….well he thought about smiling, and that's sort of the same thing, right?

Either way, it was a good moment to have stored in the back of his mind for when Chase was too busy with school work to talk to him. Spike especially enjoyed re-watching the dumbfounded look on Dooley's face when Chase told him that Spike was staying.

(It wasn't his fault he received a sort of sick satisfaction watching that little apricot mush at a loss for words…..apricot mush? Chase must be hungry again, Spike always received every thought, emotion and feeling that his counter-part had. But apricots, really Chase? Especially when there's still left over pizza from last night? Disappointing.)

* * *

Maybe it's purely in the coding, maybe Spike was (Heaven forbid) growing soft, perhaps he could see just a tiny bit of himself in that bionic brains he's inside. Maybe there really is no proper reason why Spike decided that Chase was a lot more than just a job, more like a friend, more like a brother.

(He was a lot better than Adam and Bree, sure they were fairly nice to Chase, but as soon Spike decided to present himself, they ran away scared, or sent him looks of horror.

Chase was the only one who could handle him- the only one who'd ever really tried. Which's probably why Spike cared so much when Leo came in and seemed to capture Donald's attention- Spike couldn't care less, but it had unsettled Chase, he could tell- so he hated Leo on principle.)

But whatever. All this self-reflection introspection stuff was bad for him, it was only done by girls, nerds and old people anyway. He'd been spending way too much time cooped up in here, he needed to break out and smash a few things to reclaim any lost masculinity that may have occurred during his 'feelings exploration'.

"What are you doing?"

"_Busting out of here, do you know how boring it is being stuck inside your geeky head all day? Sheesh you have a whole area reserved for dust mites and earth worms."_

"If you wait a little bit, I'll take you back to the tip and you can destroy a couple of cars again."

"…_Deal."_

"Watch it, nerd!" Some random jock jeered as he rammed into Chase and purposefully flipped his books out of his arms.

"_Don't_ Spi-"

**Commando App Engaged.**

"Oi, Lady Legs!"

The jock had turned around to face Spike's fist, well actually Spike spun him around and punched him in the face, but….in the end, what's the big difference?

Obviously the blonde's response was to raise his fists. Spike allowed a smirk to grace his features, let the fight begin.

* * *

Spike may have had to deal with another angry rant from Chase when it was all over and Mr Davenport had had to come and collect them. But he didn't really care.

It was as simple fact that _nobody_ should ever lay a finger on his little brother. Spike may not know as much as Chase, but one thing he knew with certainty was that unless those with their scathing words wanted to see how they could talk without a tongue, or unless the ones with unforgiving fists wanted to see what being beaten mercilessly really felt like…..Well, let's just say that unless the bullies wanted to find out how serious Spike is about his job, they wouldn't dare do a thing to Chase.

Because even if they don't understand how Spike works, they know that pain almost always follows after someone decides to try their hand at messing with the smarty pants with far too much cockiness than a geek needs.

But mainly because even if you don't know he's there, Spike is always watching. He's ready and waiting. And he's always up for a fight.

* * *

**I hope you liked it, as I 'said' before, this is sort of the precursor to the bullying chapter that's coming up...I'm just trying to decide whether I want to be mean and post a difference chapter tomorrow and come back to this the day after or not...Oh, I'm thinking of making the bullying chapter from everyone's POV so you get everyone's perspective (considering it seems to be an idea that a lot of you want, so I want to make it really good...which is also why I want the extra day working on it).**

**Then I'm going to bombard you all with sibling and parental fluff. Just a heads up ;)**

**So THANK YOU all so much for still reading this, I mean WOW, it's just an incredible feeling knowing that the stuff I'm writing is actually being READ and people are actually LIKING IT! Regardless of whether you just started reading this all in one big go tonight, or have been here from the start, no matter whether you review or not- thanks :) Really, thank you.  
**

**(BUT I would also like to add before I go that 61 reviews was something that, even though I was overly stressed and not in the best mood, STILL had be SUPER DUPER ecstatic and happy and gave me VERY WARM FUZZY FEELINGS! I cannot believe the response this story has gotten.**

**I feel like I KEEP thanking you all every second, but I mean it EVERY TIME, because this is still an INCREDIBLE experience that still has me in shock [good shock]. I hope that the shock and almost too over enthusiastic glee never goes away either.)**

**Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow! **


	7. Him? Oh He's Just My Brother

**Hi internet people!****How are you all?**

**Firstly, I'd like to say a huge,GIAGANTIC thank you to everyone who reviewed- like I said was having a rough day and they REALLY made me feel SO much better :D**

**YOU'RE ALL INCREDIBLY SPECTACULAR, I mean, WOW! 70? Really, you guys are just way too amazing :)**

******Daphrose, your review REALLY did cheer you up, thank you so very MUCH! (...with as much SINCERITY as one CAN give through written words through the internet).  
RazaraTheFirst, I feel very HONORED that you bestowed such a high prize onto me (the update button) ;D  
AllAmericanSlurp EmotionalDreamer101, LoveShipper and Guest - wow, thanks guys for the reviews! It was lovely to know that you liked the chapter- really made me SMILE SO BIG!**

(and yes AllAmericanSlurp, they do make me feel all warm and fuzzy :) )

Sorry Asha Davis, I didn't intend for Spike's chapter to come out sounding a bit like your story! (Which I read and is really awesome btw.)  
Oh and HowtoRiseBigTime, I did not know that, but cool!

******I don't own Lab Rats, this is first person Bree's POV  
**

* * *

A sure sign something is wrong is when the group of chattering girls surrounding your locker suddenly hush.

"Umm, Bree, who's that?" Gemma, the new girl and cheerleader questions in what had already been dubbed her 'holier than thou' tone.

She's got everything to be the next Stephanie, and for whatever reason her Barbie-doll-self decided that she found my weirdness amusing. So for now I was trying to keep her as a friend because she was just so….radiant. I mean nobody just gets offered a spot on the cheerleading team, but she did.

Jennifer clears her throat. Right.

I turn around and see Chase awkwardly standing a couple of meters away, obviously waiting for a break in the never ending conversation before coming across. He looks up when he notices the silence, but quickly lowers his head in embarrassment when he sees everyone looking at him.

Caitlin subtly fixes her hair while Gemma gives him a critical once over. I do too, just to see what she was looking at with such a look of disdain, all he was wearing was a blue striped jumper and jeans, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Stripes, really?" I hear Gemma yawn, making me thankful that all my striped tops were in the wash. Chase flinches about something, then shoots me a look- but it's not like I can read minds or anything.

"Yes?" I finally call across, proud at how I could get my voice to sounds like a mix between a sugary sweet, yet utterly demanding and totally belittling tone. Wow a week with Gemma and I'm already starting to sound like her.

"I need to talk to you, in private?" It came out like a question.

"Oh Bree, I didn't realise you talked with-" Gemma trailed off, tapping her manicured nails against her phone while she gave Chase a darling smile that sent him a visible chill.

Oh no, she does not look impressed. Caitlin shoots me a look as if to say 'OMG she thinks you're a loser now. Do something'. How to fix this?

I'll admit that it wasn't my brightest idea, but regardless I lean in a whisper:

"This is totally embarrassing, I told him not to talk to me- It's just my stupid little brother. Total nerd. He can be so utterly helpless and seriously clueless sometimes, jeez. Sorry about this, I'll be back in a sec," I smile.

Gemma shoots me an understanding look, "you poor thing," before she bursts out laughing.

I try to mimic her bubbly giggles while I walk over to Chase, whilst simultaneously giving everyone a look, like I was really annoyed about having to talk to him.

"I hope this doesn't happen a lot!" Gemma sings across, giving me a slight nod of approval before turning towards Darcy to start a new conversation. Its funny how within mere days Gemma had brought us all together, sure I had hung out with a few of those girls before- but I always spent most of my time with my siblings- now I had a group of friends. _Girl_ friends.

I walk myself and my brother around the corner and stop, "What is it?"

Chase gives me a thoughtful look, head tilted sideways like when he's really thinking about something really hard. Finally he lets out a breathy laugh, like he does when he's really upset, but he looks fine.

"You know what? Never mind."

Is he serious?

"Are you kidding me, you just dragged me away from my friends to tell me 'never mind'!?"

"I'm sorry for wasting your time. You should probably head back," there was something off about the way he was talking, his voice had more emotion in it, but his sentences were short and his face was expressionless.

"What? Did something happen? Was it Spike?"

"Nothing happened," he smiles in a way that makes it the complete opposite, as he starts backing up with his hands in the air. Okay, something bizarre was going on.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm just your nerdy little brother- I'm leaving now to save you from any more embarrassment."

Oh. He heard. Crap.

"Come on Chase, you know I didn't mean it like that," I try with a little eye roll to prove how dramatic he's being.

"Is that because I'm too nerdy to understand, or because I'm so 'utterly helpless and seriously clueless'?"

"Chaaasseee," I prolong his name. But he's already around the corner.

* * *

"What did _he _want?"

"I don't know, he just sort of walked off."

Gemma snickered daintily into her hand, "You were right, what a loser!"

This time my laugh sounded forced.

* * *

I got home from school late because I was helping Gemma find some guy she met in art but couldn't remember his name, or a clear description of him besides 'tall, dark and handsome'. For whatever reason she needed his number before she got home and refused to hunt him down without someone to gossip to. It turned out that he was some guy who looked uglier up close. Basically the entire day had just turned to mush in my mind and everything was just one big blur.

When I go to sit on the couch, Chase, who was sitting at the dining room table, gets up and leaves the room. Weird.

When I head down to the lab, suddenly it's like a voice only Chase can hear calls him and he's squeezing past me to get through the closing lift doors I literally just stepped out of.

Maybe Mr Davenport had called him, he does like Chase's company while working sometimes -and at the moment Mr D was working on a major project. Either that or he seriously needed to grow up and move on, jeez I called him a nerd- it's not like I haven't before.

"Hey Bree, did you know I can balance a pen on my tongue? See, look," Adam more than happily interrupted my thoughts by shoving a pen on the end of his tongue and trying to balance it.

I was almost impressed, he actually had it for a few seconds before it fell back onto his tongue, but then I remembered that this was Adam- and it cancelled out.

"Hi'd 'ase 'Bork Bu 'oo?"

"Huh?"

Adam moves the pen. "Did Chase talk to you?"

"Was it important?"

Adam shoots me a weird look, he looks like he's about to say something before his face distorts into a gleeful expression and he screams out a 'coming!' to some muffled noise upstairs.

"My toast's up!"

* * *

Training is cut short because Chase isn't cooperating, not only is he standing as far away as humanly possible from me, but he's not even looking at me or acknowledging my presence. In the simulation all he does is walk around off on the outskirts, we're being massacred and he's not even lifting a finger.

"Okay guys, what's going on?" Mr Davenport stops the simulation and gives all three of us a long look, "how could you possibly get that formation so wrong?"

"Don't look at us, Chase is the one not doing anything!" I complain.

"Chase, is that true?" All eyes turned on him, so I watch as he squares his shoulders, swallows a lump in his throat and walks away. Just ups and leaves. It's the first time anyone's ever just left during the middle of training. It was bound to happen at some stage, but I always assumed it would be me or even Adam to walk out first.

"Chase? Chase!" Mr Davenport gives us a quick glance, as he makes his way after our brother, "I'll be right back, you two just have a bit of independent study."

* * *

It takes a while for Mr Davenport to come back, and when he does he looks like someone just kicked his robotic puppy. His previously ironed shirt looked slightly rumpled, odd. Both Adam and I stand straighter….well at least I do, Adam just stops rolling around on the floor to improve his 'stealth'.

"Bree, Could you come over here for a minute?"

Obviously I'm cautious as I walk over, "Mr Davenport?"

He fixes me a long hard look, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Insert a blank stare from me.

"Maybe something that happened at school today?"

"No," nothing that I could really think of that had any relevance to this. Just me hanging out with the girls.

"Nothing at all?"

I shake my head up at him, I'm tempted to say something sarcastic, but his cool tone and sad eyes stop me. The only remotely weird thing that happened today was Chase and his strange mood swings, pulling me away from my friends, acting all offended about a joke and then avoiding me and walking out on training.

He lets out a long sigh, just like he does when Adam fails another test. Like he's disappointed but can't really be mad, "I'm not going to tell you what needs to happen, all I'm saying is that maybe you should go upstairs and get yourself a drink."

It's a bizarre thing to say, but I'm all but ushered into the lift before I have any time to really question anything, Mr Davenport even hits the button for me.

It's when I get up there that I work out why. The lift doors are just starting to open and the house is so quiet up here that I can hear him from where I'm standing.

"…..And then she said 'this is totally embarrassing, I told him not to talk to me- It's just my stupid little brother. Total Nerd.' and everyone laughed and then she said-" Chase's voice stops abruptly when I exhale.

He and Tasha are curled up on the couch, she had his head on her shoulder and was soothingly running her fingers through his hair. It's funny because Chase never really lets anyone cuddle him anymore, but here he is in Tasha's arms.

So this was because I offended the great 'Chase Davenport' and obviously nobody is even asking me for my side of the story, typical. I feel two sets of eyes locked on my back as I walk over to the kitchen island and add some water to the kettle.

"Tea, anyone?" I try with a nervous chuckle, I mean- it's not like I'm not going to try and be nice and civil, one of us has to be the mature one.

'_But_ _tea, really Bree?'_

Chase just turns his head away like he wasn't just looking at me.

Tasha at least replies with a gentle, "No thank you, we're all sorted over here," while she gestures to the two cups on the table.

There's an awkward silence while I make my tea, I'm about to go back down to the lab when I hear a cough and suddenly Eddie is lit up, "Uh oh Sunshine, orders from the big man for you to stay up here."

"Really?" I give the screen a look as if to say 'can't you feel the awkwardness, let me get out of here.'

"Well, he said to suggest it, but this is getting interesting and I…..don't like you."

I smile, "Thanks Eddie. The feeling's mutual."

There's one last laugh and then the screen turns black again. I end up sitting at the table with my back to the two on the couch, well until Tasha calls me across.

"Hey Bree, why don't you come join us?" It doesn't really sound like an option so I move to the end of the couch, making sure to stop my eyes from wandering over to Chase too much. He's still with Tasha and not looking at me.

"So, maybe we should have a bit of a talk, you know, express our feelings while we're all up here."

"Bree's good at that," It's the first time I've heard Chase acknowledge me since school. You know, besides the obvious avoidance. Of course it just had to be some snarky little comment, too.

"Why don't we try to keep this positive-"

"MUUUMMM!" Leo's voice cuts his mother off, he's been working on some school project outside ever since he got home, "DOES CAR OIL STAIN?"

"As I was saying-"

"IS SPRAY PAINT FLAMMABLE?"

"Oh goodness, I'll be right back- you two just….Uhhhh….." Then she seems to give up and just leave.

We sit in awkward silence for a very long time, until I decide to be the bigger 'man' and place my tea down by the leg of the couch, and, scoot closer to Chase.

"So this is about school, huh?"

All I get is a brief look before I'm being ignored again.

"You know I didn't mean it, right?"

"…..Why'd you say it then?"

"Well," why did I say it? "There's this new girl and, I don't know, I wanted her to be my friend so I just…." I flap my hands in the air in an attempt to convey whatever point I was trying to make.

"So you want to be friends with someone who's so judgemental?"

"It's hard to explain. The joys of being a girl."

"You can't just say that it's just because you're a girl. You tried to brush me off like I'm some stupid kid who doesn't know what I'm doing, then to call me a nerd. Really? You went as low as to use my bionics against me."

I hadn't seen my brother this visibly upset since he was eleven and Mr Davenport told him to go to sleep while he talked 'grown up stuff' with an investor, "…..I'm sorry Chase."

He huffs.

"You just stood there, while she insulted me, I was waiting for you to say something and all you did was laugh along. Then all of those horrible things you said," Chase has always been one of those people who like to talk things out, but when it's his turn to speak, it's like he never knows quite what to say. "Am I really that much of an embarrassment?"

"No! Of course you're not, I was just being stupid, really, really stupid," I scoot in closer until I'm next to him, "I'm the one who you should be embarrassed about, I just turned on my own brother to gain the approval of a Stephanie 2.0."

I get eye contact.

"I mean, seriously, I am the worst. How many other people can say that they completely and utterly made a huge jerk out of themselves in front of their brother and friends…..and whatever Gemma is?"

I never realised how much I'd hurt Chase, I guess in an funny sort of way, him leaving was completely in character –he often did move away from things that he could tell were about to upset him. Maybe my defence wasn't as strong as I thought…..was I really the one in the wrong here?

There's a beat of tense silence before, "….You'd be surprised what bionic ears pick up around school."

Good, he was –in his strange and utterly Chase way- attempting to lighten the mood.

"If I admit that I was a complete and utter idiot, who will forever be trying to make up for such a grave mistake to their poor mistreated baby brother," I sigh dramatically as I bat my eyelashes in his face, "and by forever I mean a week. Will you forgive me?"

He leans his head back against the couch-back and looks up at the ceiling like he's really thinking. After he's had a minute to think things over in his head I give him a bit of a nudge. Then another, because I know once I see him grin that more than half the battle is over.

He quirks the corner of his lips, obviously trying to keep a poker face until I poke him with faux impatient and he laughs and swats my hand away.

He smiles, I grin- and I know that everything is right again.

We sit next to each other for a while, just listening to each other breathing- well I know I am, I'm sure Chase can hear far more. Finally he turns and looks me dead in the eye.

"Two weeks."

"A week and an extra three days of chores," I bargain.

He frowns, "We like chores, remember?"

"Hmmm, Clever Boy, alright, a week with me doing whatever you say."

"I thought that was implied in 'making up'."

"Well aren't you just on fire today," I tease before holding my hand out to him, "Okay good sir, two weeks it is then."

We both grin and shake on it.

* * *

The next time I see Gemma trying to look down on my brother again, I give her a piece of my mind and make sure Chase has a front row seat. I guess I realised three things whilst sorting everything out yesterday:

1. Chase can still get upset too (even though we all often forget that he has emotions when all he does is tell us what not to do, and, present us with random facts about geeky things at odd times).

2. Gemma is a terrible friend, she treats everyone like we're all below her while she sit on her pedestal as the self-proclaimed 'Queen of the Universe'. She, although I'm still responsible for the most part, hurt my brother.

3. I don't like seeing my brother upset. Ever.

So when she brought up my brother's horrible taste in shoes, I turned around and told her rather bluntly that I don't associate with people like her and left with arm swung around my brother's shoulder.

* * *

**So at the moment you may be wondering why I haven't posted the bullying chapter...but all in good time :) **

**Oh and in case you didn't know, all of these one-shots are interlinked, so this one has something to do with the bullying one...if you can pick out what (actually you probably can, it's not that hard when you think about it, but then again I wrote this, so of course I know what the reference is :) )  
**

**What did you think? Liked it or didn't like it?  
Sorry, I'm not the best at first person- but I felt as if I hadn't written Bree in a while (or at least dedicated her a chapter of sorts) so I did. Which just so happened to lead me to write it first person and then read over it questioning 'why'?  
**

**Oh and I don't mean for Bree to come across totally...mean...I just figured that technically she only hangs out with her brothers or Caitlin, so when an opportunity presents itself to make friends her own gender she'd take it and try to hold onto it for as long as possible (like when she held that sleep over). Also, I noticed that she sometimes says things like she doesn't really understand how hurtful they could come across if taken the wrong way. But deep down she really cares about people and is rather nice...so I obviously exploited all of that and created this. (which might I add is a total of 3,568 words, which I think is the longest I've ever done (this includes A/N as well).  
**

**Thanks for reading this far :)  
'Hope to catch you tomorrow, you INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL humans, you...unless you're not human, it's okay- I don't judge ;)  
see you later you STUPENDOUSLY VIBRANT beings, you. **


	8. What's Wrong With Chase?

**Hi everyone,**

**So, firstly THANK YOU so much for all of your reviews! 81, really guys, you're all INCREDIBLE! I swear I almost died when I looked, I WAS IN SHOCK! AGAIN! While I read the reviews I started doing my awkward silent squealing thing again...which is a sure sign of how amazingly GLORIOUS I found every review I read.  
**

**(A lot of you guessed how last chapter tied in with this chapter which was AWESOME!)**

**So this is the Chase's bully chapter, sort of...it's hard to don't actually have him bullied, but you do...**

**It jumps people a bit (Chase, to Adam, to Leo, to Chase + Spike, to Adam) and there are a lot of those page line things...yeah...sorry about that.**  
**Oh and it jumps between past and present (like when Chase is reflecting on what happened to him).**

* * *

**WARNING: This has bullying in it (obviously) so just be mindful, because I don't want to upset any of you okay?  
It's nothing that bad, just a couple of paragraphs about what happened to him and references to being beaten up. But then again, who am I to say what's bad and what's not (insert shrugs).  
**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats!**

**Sorry for any grammar, spelling or incorrect words :/**  
**(I tried to fix up as much as I could, but I'm sure something must have slipped through)**.

* * *

Chase could understand why half of his mind wanted to romanticize the idea that it was all because of his smarts. He really could. But the logical part of his brain proved to him that, although humans are creatures of habit, some things cannot be determined by a single factor.

He could not merely say that his entire class turned on him because it was a well-known fact that being smart at Mission Creek High led to bullying. Of course after extensive research Chase did conclude that every single person who had crossed these walls with the whisper of a high IQ, was ridiculed beyond belief.

Principal Perry said that it happened so often, kids should expect it, because the bullies had done it so often it became almost second nature to weed out the weaklings, almost a habit to beat the smart guy senseless or force the geek girl to tears.

But no matter how easily all signs pointed to this torment at school being because of his brain, he could simply not -as a man of science- take that when there were so many other variables to consider. Maybe his striped shirt reminded Mitch of his bad home life, so that's why he spilt his lunch over it, perhaps Nicolas' minute cranium couldn't comprehend that calling someone such horrible names could be taken as an offense, and not as the jokes he'd played them off to be.

Yes -that was it- he was sure.

* * *

It was the thirteenth day in a row that Chase hadn't sat with them at lunch. Adam had tried to work out why, he'd even asked his brother if they did anything to upset him, but there was nothing –it felt like Chase was just simply drawing himself away from them for no reason. But there had to be something. He may not actually do his homework, but Adam knows that there was no way Chase could be having to constantly go to the library every day for school work.

"You would not believe what I just had to endure," Leo sighed as he collapsed in the chair opposite Adam's, "I had to sit through Geography without Chase. Again. Do you know how hard it is to actually work in a class you've been sleeping in for the past three months? Dude, I know the Earth is round, isn't that enough!?"

"Why have you been sleeping in Geography?" Bree materialised, daintily placing her tray down on the table and her napkin on her lab -before tearing into her burger not unlike a lioness into a hunk of meat.

The group of cheerleaders walking passed gave her an unimpressed look.

"'Looks like I've got to be teaching you some table manners," Leo drawled as he passed Bree his spare napkin, which she took thankfully and dabbed at her face with.

Bree swallowed the chunk of food in her mouth, "well?"

"Well what? Oh…." Leo seemed to remember, "Well since Chase always shows off in every class and answers all the questions it gives me the perfect opportunity to catch up on some extra sleep I miss during _Pig Zombie_ marathons. But he decided not to show, Mr Zohn was hunting down poor victims to prey on, and trust me when I say we all knew nothing."

"Where was Chase?" Bree questioned, "He never misses class."

"How should I know? It's not like he really talks to any of us anymore –probably decided that he's too smart to hang out with us simple minded folk."

"Hey!" Bree argued, "Don't you dare clump me in the same group as Mister Highlighter Moustache over here."

She indicated at Adam with her free hand, drawing attention to the pink moustache he had drawn on his face in English to make him look smarter…..and also because it was the only highlighter he could find.

Adam would have made an attempt at being offended, but Bree was right –Chase never misses class. What has he been up to? Did he do something wrong, is that it? Maybe Adam should go have a long overdue chat with his little brother.

"Hey guys, I think I left my sticky tape in my locker, I'll be right back," he murmurs as he stands up to go.

"Why do you need….You know what, I'm not even going to ask," Leo called out behind him.

"It's lunch, can't it wait?" Bree gave him a long look, he tried to wink at her- or something- to give her a sign that he wasn't actually going to his locker, but she just gave him an even stranger look and turned back to her food.

* * *

Adam couldn't find Chase in the library, which he discovered was a large room with lots of books and chairs with a crabby old lady_ 'shushing'_ everyone. He could see why Chase had hunted this place down on his first day –it just seemed so….him.

While he may not have had any success in the library on his way back to the cafeteria, he did see Chase leaving the counsellor's office. His brother also noticed him.

"Adam? What are you doing here? I didn't even know you knew this wing of the school," Chase walked across with a look of clear confusion on his face.

It was true, the library and counsellor's office was all in the same wing of the school. Both of which Adam never used, so he had to ask some nice red head for directions to the library….then go back and get her to write them down.

"Are you…..okay?"

"What? oh yeah," Chase grinned, and let out a breathy laugh, "I just needed to ask Miss Laura some questions for a Psychology paper I'm working on."

Adam was about to believe him, until he noticed that Chase wasn't carrying anything. Shouldn't he at least have a notebook to write down Miss Laura's responses? And since when did he take Psychology?

But before Adam could question further, he noticed that Chase had already disappeared.

* * *

Leo tried to not look at Bree while she finished eating, it was a rather disturbing sight. With Adam off at his 'locker' and Chase….where ever Chase had been for the past two weeks, he was stuck on a table with Bree scoffing her burger because she was 'hungry, Leo, haven't you ever been hungry before?'

He wished that Chase was there to come up with a comeback for him, but things had been strange with him. It started about a month ago, Chase slowly stopped hanging out with them, or, made whatever time he spent with them brief. Leo had assumed he'd just been hanging out with his chemistry buddies again, or in the library, and just needed a bit of space. But now he hadn't sat with them at lunch for over two weeks. And even before that, him sitting with them was sporadic at best.

"Hey, do you know what's up with Chase?" Leo questioned Bree.

"Hmm?"

"Well, he's your brother."

"No clue. He's a weird little guy, what can I say? He's probably just hanging out with other people, I mean most people don't hang out with their family all day."

"But he wasn't in Geography."

"Okay, that is a little strange, but I'm sure he has a reason. Knowing Chase he was probably helping that evil librarian put books away, because she loves him, or he was being a substitute teacher for another class –he's done that before."

"I guess bu-" Leo was cut off by a panting Adam running back over.

"Guys, I went to the library to look for Chase," Okay, so he wasn't sticking with his locker story then, "and he wasn't there. But I saw he come out of Miss Laura's office."

"Who's Miss Laura?" Bree questioned as she took a sip of her drink, obviously not that concerned.

"She's the School Counsellor, I had to see her when my parents were getting divorced. Miss Laura Eliza Keating, I saw her driver's licence once," Leo explained while Adam got his breath back.

"Why does everyone call her Miss Laura then?"

Leo elaborated, "Because it's apparently to make kids feel more comfortable to talk to her, being on almost first name basis. I don't know, I couldn't look past the millions of cat posters in her office, I can see why Perry hired her."

"Why was Chase seeing her?"

"He says it was because he was asking her some psychology questions, but he didn't have any paper with him."

"So, he's got that weird memory thing where he can like rewind time."

"I'm not sure that how it works, Leo," Bree replied, "and there's nothing strange about that, kids in my class ask teacher's questions all the time."

"You should have seen his face-"

"Did he look upset?"

"Well no bu-"

"Adam, he's fine."

"But did that weird laugh thing, you know? Where he sounds like he's exhaling with sound effects."

This made Bree bite her lip, but she quickly shook her head at whatever she was thinking, "I'm sure he's fine. He'd come to us if something was wrong."

"Would he though?" Leo voiced the question everyone was thinking.

* * *

Chase was hiding out in the school's theatre, it was one of the few places that nobody would ever think of looking for him. The jocks would be searching the hallways and cafeteria, whilst his 'friends' would be searching the library and science rooms.

He wished he never said anything.

It all started in Science, where Chase brought up his interest in space and his career objectives for later in life. There was a slight snicker in the air when he admitted he wanted to be an Astronaut Lawyer. It confused Chase at first to why his class was laughing, wasn't it respectable to have ambitious dreams? Then he remembered how his siblings sometimes mocked his goals, even if they didn't really mean it –so the class must have just been acting like that.

Oh how wrong he was.

It started with a couple snide remarks from his mates in the chemistry club about wanting to defend the guilty, but friends tease each other all the time, right?

Then few of the boys at the back of the class seemed to finally take notice of Chase, and even though they were in the same advanced classes as him, took it to calling him a 'nerd' or a 'know it all' under their breaths when he answered a question. No matter, but maybe Chase didn't need to raise his hand so much anymore.

* * *

He tried to brush everything off, things weren't so bad. But then again, everything was just a one thing after another. The small little things didn't stop, they just kept happening and Chase would brush it off.

Eventually his chemistry friends had moved on to teasing him about his 'unrealistic life goals'. They kept telling him that he needed to grow up- like they weren't dreaming of even crazier things, at least Chase's dream could be achieved. But after a while Chase worked out that maybe they never really liked him, but hated him, and just had a grudging respect because he was so bright. Now his footing was lost it was their perfect time to strike.

His debating friends caught on rather quickly, and at first encouraged him to be a lawyer, they, even though they could out argue anyone, were all rather passive so they never got involved in anything. But they were there, which was enough. Well, they were, until the rumours started.

Chase had never actually caught on to what they were about, he only caught the end part where students would send him funny looks and laugh into their hands. His debating friends stopped talking to him, his chemistry friends kept up their very extensive list of verbal insults and taunts. He thought they were his friends, but apparently they weren't.

The jocks finally took it upon themselves to 'fix' Chase too, they had made it very clear that they liked him –which is why they were going to beat the 'nerd' out of him, because they'd seen Spike when he came out once, and had assumed that Chase was a potential football player after seeing Spike's aggression.

Then there were just the popular kids who weren't sport crazy who decided to jump on the bandwagon and mess around with Chase too, because apparently if everyone else was doing it, it was okay.

* * *

He was teased for hanging around his family, at first it didn't bother him, until he started getting notes inside his locker calling his a baby and suggesting his family was part of some cult. So he stopped hanging out with them.

* * *

There were a lot of people who just ignored everything, they thought that they were doing the right thing by not getting involved, but they never tried to help him. On some days Chase found the isolation the worst part of…..whatever this was. Being in a room full of people who acted like he didn't exist.

But why? What did he do? Was it because he had a plan for his future that they didn't agree with? Was it because they were jealous? Was it even that big a deal? Or was it because everyone was just waiting for a moment to strike, like his chemistry 'pals'.

* * *

Perry had found out whenever, she was fairly well informed actually. It was surprising that she probably cared the most out of everyone. She invited him into her office earlier during recess, where he ate a bit more food and sat there with her while she asked him what was going on. He didn't tell her everything, but he told her enough that she, in an uncharacteristically kind and responsible move, excused him from his next class and told him to go talk to Miss Laura.

It was going fine until he ran into Adam, it was obvious that he didn't believe his lie about doing work, so he quickly left. If he couldn't explain it to Miss Laura, if he felt _embarrassed _to tell her –how on earth was he supposed to tell his brother?

* * *

This left Chase where he was now. Perry had told him he didn't need to go back to class, so when the bell to signify the end of lunch went, he just sunk lower in his seat and watched the theatre class rehearse their play.

He decided to spend the time reflecting, but at the moment he was really just trying to calm Spike down.

"**I will kill them all."**

'_No you won't."_

"**Yes. I'll tear them into shreds and mount all of their left thumbs our locker as a warning."**

"Please _Spike. You're not helping. At all. Just…..Please….."_

That was probably the only reason Spike wasn't intervening, sure he could always override Chase and come out whenever. But this wasn't something casual, this was actually very serious. Spike didn't want to play the bad guy, at the moment, he really didn't and even though it was the last thing either of them expected, he was the only one who Chase could talk to. Spike may be aggressive, but he was a soldier, a strategist- he knew he had to wait for the perfect moment to 'betray' his brother for his own good.

Right now, he and Chase had a deal, if someone so much as thought about touching Chase again, Spike would literally eat their hand. If nobody hurt him, he'd listen to his alter ego. Which was why Chase was hiding from everyone, he didn't want to give Spike an excuse to come out and make things worse.

"**Can't you at least tell someone?"**

"_What do you think I was doing with Miss Laura?"_

"**Not some thirty year old, peppy princess."**

"_Who? I can't talk to my friends, I don't have any, remember? There's no way I could tell Mr Davenport, there's no telling what he'd do, same goes with Adam, if he knew there would be blood-"_

"**With me there would be blood."**

"_Yeah, but at least you'll be tactical about it, Adam would just go in there and practically kill everyone. And even then I'd have to deal with those eyes. He'd be so disappointed, I'd be his little weak brother who couldn't handle a couple of nasty comments and punches-"_

"**You are his little weak bro-"**

"_Spike! Besides, I'm the smartest person alive, if I can't come up with a solution, who could?"_

"**Maybe that's you're problem."**

"_What do you mean?"_

"**Just talk to Adam, or Bree or….**_**Dooley**_**. Someone. Or I'll make you."**

Chase sighed, but overall didn't really want to test Spike, so he made the logical move and got Adam called out of class.

* * *

Adam was trying to listen, he really was. He could tell that Chase wasn't telling him everything, but they were at least getting somewhere.

"-And then Dylan told me he would try to fix me again today so I panicked and hid-"

His poor baby brother, his little Chasey, how had he been so blind? Of course Chase wouldn't voluntarily ignore them, even at home he had been acting detached, and Adam just couldn't believe that he didn't see it sooner. The possibility hadn't even crossed his mind, bullying, he'd assumed work stress –but this?

"-So then I went up to the office and got them to call you and now we're here," Chase gestured around to the cat covered walls of Miss Laura's office before he placed his head in his hands whispered a miserable, "And I just don't know what to do."

The last part caught Adam by surprise, Chase never admitted when he didn't know something. So he did what he thought was right, he climbed out of his chair and knelt at Chase's chair, pulling him into a hug.

"Point these _kids_ out and I'll-"

"No, Adam, you can't!"

"Watch me."

"Please, please, you can't hurt them, you'll only make it _worse_!" He practically cried.

"Chasey, what do you want me to do? Just say the word and I'll do _anything_," he all but begged.

"I don't want you to do anything. I didn't even want to tell you –stupid Spike- I just…I don't know, I _don't_ know, I. DON'T. KNOW!"

Spike convinced Chase into telling Adam? _Spike_. That was a shocker, almost as shocking as the whole bullying thing that had been so well managed that Adam hadn't even caught a whiff of it. But maybe that was on purpose, maybe people just kept it from him, Bree and Leo.

"Hey, _calm down_ Chasey, why don't we go home tonight and tell Mr Davenport, he'll know what to do," Adam noticed Chase shake his head, "I'll go with you if you want."

"No, we can't tell Mr D. We just can't."

"We've got to tell someone, what about Leo and Bree? Then all of us can know to keep an eye on you."

"Not Leo," right, of course, Leo looked up to Chase, Bree and himself as his protectors; who knows what could happen when he found out that his bionic family had problems of their own. And it's a major problem, that Leo shouldn't be informed of, which was okay considering he couldn't really do anything anyway.

"What about Bree?"

Chase let out an exasperated sigh.

"Not now, maybe when we get home?" There was a head shake, "tomorrow, at school, you could go and talk to her. Doesn't that sound good? I'm sure she wouldn't mind you going up, just ask if you can talk to her for a minute and tell her."

"…..Since when did you become so wise?"

Adam could have replied, but he just hugged his brother a tiny bit tighter. He'd never really expected this when he was called out of Art, sure he was initially annoyed considering Art was his best subject, but as soon as he saw Chase he knew something big was going to happen. He just could never have guessed this.

"Tomorrow?"

"Fine, I'll talk to her tomorrow."

The older bionic smiled. Bree would have some ideas on what to do about the nerds, while Adam was already planning on how to handle the jocks who dare think that his little brother was something that needed 'fixing'.

"Just…..You're not going to try anything, are you?"

"Of course not, Chasey, whatever you say."

Of course Adam was lying through his teeth, but his brother didn't need to know that. Whether it got him expelled or not, Adam was helping Chase through this and getting the revenge he knew his brother was too goodhearted to get himself. Whatever the cost.

* * *

**So, what do you think? I'm not sure if I should post another chapter of this or move on...I mean I GUESS it's sort of halfway up in the air, but there was STILL Bree's chapter where you can see that he does go to tell her...but doesn't tell her because she's mean without meaning to be.**

**Umm, I suppose I could put up a conclusion, but I'm not sure...I think this story is in desperate need of something really fluffy, what do you guys think?**

**Once again, thank you so much for reviewing, I LOVE YOU ALL (In the platonic, people I know through the internet way...) Whenever I see a review from you guys I IMMEDIATELY jump on it and get so HAPPY that you guys seem to be liking this ENOUGH to take the time to write about how much you like this :D**

**(If that made sense.)**

**So yeah, anyways, thank you so much for reading and I guess I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?**


	9. Just Tell Her (What Do We Do?)

**Hi guys,**

**So a week ago (well pretty much a week, TECHNICALLY a week and a day because it's 12:03am) I posted the intro for this story. WOW, can I just say that:  
A. that seems so long ago, like MONTHS and not mere days (In a good way)  
B. I would NEVER have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get such a RESPONSE to this story that ENCOURAGES me to update daily.  
(Even though I've said it before) I literally only expected a couple of reviews, but I was (and still am) doing what I love (writing) about something I love (Lab Rats) which was the whole point of it all.  
**

**So all of your reviews and reads and favs and everything have just made that all so much better :) Thank you guys, SO MUCH!**

**You're all WONDERFULLY INCREDIBLE in your own BEAUTIFUL SPLENDID way -and I'm not just saying that just 'cuz ;)**

* * *

**So this is the second part to the bullying story that many of you requested I finished. It's not that long and I'm not that proud of it. But I think it serves it's purpose (ties together all loose ends). I think some of the characters are a bit OOC, but I just sort of molded them to suit whatever I needed.  
**

**WARNING: Mentions of bullying and implied violence, just in case I felt I should warn you.**

******Oh, the whole bullying idea was given to me by, encouraged by and or agreed by (sorry if I forgot you! just mentally include your name and take some of the happy warm feels I'm sending your way): Evelyn, America Rose, Zoey, Guest and Avengers 13  
Thanks so much guys, I wouldn't have written it without you, whether you suggested it or encouraged it or said 'yeah, write a bullying story'  
you're all AWESOMELY SPECTACULAR :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Bree was honestly wondering what on Earth had gotten into her brothers. First she had walked into them having a full blown argument in the lab, where she made a tactical retreat, but now Adam had led Chase up to her by his collar and shoved him next to her on the couch.

Bree looked at both of them for a moment, "Do I even want to know?"

"Yes," Adam nodded his head.

"No!" Chase bellowed over the top of his brother at the same time, attempting to stand up before he was pushed back down by the oldest bionic. The look Chase was sending his brother sent a visible chill down Bree's spine, and those glowering eyes weren't even directed at her.

The two males now seemed to be having a staring, or glaring, contest. Adam had his arms crossed over his chest and a single eye brow raised, a small grin playing at the corner of his lips. It was one of those rare occasions where Adam looked exactly like an almost amused parent waiting for the little kid to stop their tantrum, because, no matter what they knew they won. Chase was playing the part of the stubborn child almost perfectly, he had the pout going, but instead of crying or hitting things in frustration, he kept his mouth closed. Finally he dropped his gaze and instead kept flicking it towards the nearest escape route.

Neither looked willing to leave.

Bree decided that either way this was going to take a while, so she paused the movie she was watching and directed her body towards her two brothers.

"Well, yes or no?" It seemed to shake her brother's out of whatever trance they were in, because they both visibly jumped when she spoke, obviously forgetting that she was there.

"_No._"

"Yeah."

She sighed, obviously her brothers weren't going to agree anytime soon, considering they now had their heads together and were quietly bickering amongst themselves. She caught a bit of what they were saying, '_tell her', 'make me', 'unfair', 'promised', 'own good'_ and '_or I will'._

Finally they pulled apart and Adam turned, grinning, to Bree. It was odd, in an argument between Adam and Chase, the younger brother always won, but clearly Adam was smiling in victory and Chase was scowling in defeat.

"Chase has something to tell you."

Bree turned expectantly to her little brother, who after shooting Adam with a pleading look, sighed and turned to face her and opened his mouth.

* * *

It took Adam a while, there were a lot of times where Chase wanted to stop but he pressed his little brother to keep going. By now Bree seemed to have been caught up, in fact some of the things Chase said were new to him too –but then again it almost made him physically sick when he heard about one of the 'fixing' sessions with the jocks.

"They held you down and screamed into your ears because they saw how you sometimes reacted to the bell and wanted to get you used to the football crowds," Bree didn't question, she just stated in an emotionless tone. But Bree didn't mean anything by it, that's just what she did was processing, she forgets about her voice and lets it come out like a robot.

"Uh huh. My ears were playing up for a week afterwards," Chase admitted.

* * *

When they were finished, Bree pulled her brother into a quick hug and then turned around and hit play on her movie. Adam first thought that his sister didn't care, but in a minute she asked Chase a question about whether butterflies could actually do that. This caused Chase to go into a full depth analysis on butterflies, which caused him to become completely oblivious to…..Ohhh.

Bree beckoned for Adam to sit down next to her, which he quickly did.

"What are we going to do?"

"Get revenge, you can handle Gareth and his little gang and I'll go have a little talk with the jocks," he paused at Bree's taken aback look, "I'm not letting anyone get away with hurting my baby brother."

"I'm not saying we should, but do we really need to get revenge? Can't we just tell a teacher?"

"Principle Perry already knows, and what could a teacher do? They're not going to be around 24/7."

"Yeah, but we will, they can make sure he's okay during classes and we can take care of him during recess and lunch."

Adam shook his head, "That doesn't stop the problem, it just pushes it away- we need to do something that stops Chase- heck- any kid at that school from being bullied."

Bree bit her lip, glancing down at her still babbling younger brother, "-and since they cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 30 degrees Celsius, or 86 degrees Fahrenheit-"

"Okay."

Adam nodded once more, "good, now we just need a plan."

There was another moment of silence between the two older siblings, until Bree unsurely opened her mouth, "….Hey, you know how you said Gareth? You didn't mean Gareth Madio did you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Leo's at his house, right now, they're working on some joint project together. He came in while Leo was getting ready and I smiled at him and asked him how he was. Oh my- he asked me how Chase was doing. He was wondering whether Chase wanted to go to the movies with him and a couple of 'their' friends later, I told him I'd ask him. OH MY GO-!"

Adam quickly covered his sister's mouth, and both siblings quickly looked down at Chase.

"-Their exoskeleton protects them and keeps water inside their bodies so they don't dry out-"

Both exhaled slowly, glad that their brother was so absorbed in what he was saying that he didn't notice the raised voice.

"So Gareth is ring leader of the verbal bullying?"

"No, he's the one who says mean stuff to Chase and tells others to do the same."

"That's what I- actually, never mind- so what can we do now?" It was a new experience, very rarely did his siblings ever come to him with questions, for advice and his opinion. But in less than a week he's had his brother confide in him and his sister turn to him like he's in charge. It was a liberating experience….whatever 'liberating' meant.

"Right now, we're watching a movie. When Mr Davenport comes home we sit down with him and Chase and get him to tell Mr D what's going on. The rest we can handle on Monday."

* * *

By lunchtime Monday Chase hadn't run into any of the jocks, all of the popular people were back to acting like he didn't exist and some of his old chemistry friends had actually come up to him to apologise.  
It was funny really, they all came over in a huddle, par Gareth, who was sitting in the principal's office because his mother wanted to put him on some special plan after some mysterious phone call Leo heard her have when he was over.

"_We were working on the kitchen table, and let me tell you, I was so bored. Then the phone rang and Mrs Madio answered it. She freaked out and then took Gareth into the side room and started yelling at him about bullying someone -It was so weird, because Gareth makes me look like a giant- that's all I know, because his mum decided to drive me home."_

Chase made no comment about the bullying part, but silently took the information on board.

When the chemistry group came up to him he, after much silent deliberating, accepted their apology but told them that he hoped they could understand that he didn't want to be their friend anymore.

The debaters came over next, tail between their legs as they gushed out some very well argued points about why they did what they did and how they were misinformed and hoped they could be forgiven. He told them the same thing as the chemistry club, because even though they didn't taunt him relentlessly, they weren't there for him. They accepted that happily and left saying that they hoped that over time Chase would consider debating with them again.

Chase had smiled and told them that he hoped so too. Truthfully though he had noticed that he had been referring to them as groups and not as individuals, friends don't do that to each other. So maybe there wasn't any hope at all.

* * *

"Hey Adam?"

"Yeah, Chasey?" his older brother replied as the bionics and Leo sat at a table, picking at their lunches.

Chase looked around and noticed that all of the jocks who had been avoiding him all day practically skidded out the door when the caught Chase's, or Adam's, eye.

"….Thanks."

"Anytime, bro," came the cheerful response.

"Hey, do you know who called Mrs Madio? Because Leo came home while we were watching the movie….."

"Why would Adam know who called Gareth's mum?" Leo's question fell to deaf ears though.

"No idea," Adam replied, glancing at Bree –who shrugged her shoulders.

In the background, while ridiculing one of the new students for coming to school in a _blazer_, (and informing her that all dog shaped items, including the student's school bag, were prohibited and if Perry saw it again she'd burn it.) Principal Perry made eye contact with Chase and the two slightly nodded at each other. Chase grinned.

"Lady Locks, wipe that smile off of your face this instant. This is a school, and if I have to be miserable so do all of you!" Perry called out when she walked past the Davenport-Dooley table with her own lunch tray.

"Whatever you say, _Shoulder Pads_!" Chase called back casually as she walked out the door, she gave him a half-hearted wave to show him that she heard, but made no more comments.

Bree almost choked on her drink, Leo started laughing and Adam missed the entire exchange.

"Since when did _you_ of all people become buddies with Perry?" Bree asked, once she stopped choking.

"What makes you think we're friends?"

"You just- right then you just-" Bree pointed at the door, which Principal Perry had just exited from, "Nobody would dare say something like that to Perry. When I stand up to her I always magically get extra homework or find a detention notice in my locker- but you just…..Spike's come out and attacked her twice."

"Maybe that's why," Chase mumbled aloofly into his soup bowl.

"Because you disrespect her?" Bree replied.

"Because Spike attacks her?" Leo questioned, obviously confused, at the same time as Bree.

"No, because I'm not scared of her."

"We're not scared of her," Bree countered, indicating Leo, Adam and herself in a semicircular motion with her finger.

But all Chase did was smile, "Aren't you though?"

* * *

Chase did end up with a note in his locker, but it wasn't a detention slip:

_"Hair Gel,_

_Expect an apology from Madio before the end of the day._  
_Feel free to stop by anytime and say hello to Mr. Whiskers and Jingles._

_Insult me again and you get a detention,_

_T. Perry."_

* * *

**What did you think? Did it tie together the way you were expecting?**

Even though it was super fun to write, I'm glad I've finished the bullying story and can overload you with fluff now (just to make up for last couple of non fluffy chapters).

**I've got a rough idea of what I'm going to be posting for the next couple of days too (Davenport with all of the Lab Rats, sick fic, Leo and Chase, parental, family road trip, mission injury, kid rats, Leo's dad [because that idea just really interested me] etc.) Thank you for all of your ideas, as you can see I'm slowly incorporating them in. I'm going to write them all, it's just me picking the right time to post them :)**

**Oh, that's not the order, BTW, I'm still trying to work out when to post what.**

**So anyways...94 reviews? NINETY-FOUR, OMG that is just ahhh. WOW. Words cannot comprehend my radiating joy that has given me an almost permanent smile...which I think creeps out my mum when I start smiling and squealing at my phone :/ OH WELL, SHE CAN LEARN! **

**You're all AWESOME, thank you so very very much!**

**See you tomorrow, right? :)**


	10. Back Off (Leo vs Chase)

**Hi guys :)**

**So...(does a calm lead up until...) OMG. WOW. 109? ONE HUNDRED AND NINE! I've got a theory that I'm actually in a coma right now (because I tripped over the couch or something, I don't know, with me it's possible) and my brain is making this all up, because stuff as FANTASTIC as this NEVER happens to me. Ever.**

**You're all the most UNBELIEVABLY MARVELOUS, WONDROUS people (or robots, because I don't judge) EVER! Seriously, you're all SENSATIONAL! WOW. Really, just...WOW.**

**I think my shock levels have hit a new level. A level I didn't even know they could hit until I casually turned on my phone thinking 'the last chapter was sorta short, it won't get that much of a response' GOSH, was I wrong. 15 reviews for 1 chapter. Just...THANK YOU!**

**Oh and all of the ideas you are sending me are all being added to this list thing I have on my desk- so don't worry, I'm recording and working on anything and everything you suggest. So feel free to keep suggesting stuff :)  
(within reason though...I'm not going to write about Adam and Chase stealing a hotdog truck and running off to Mexico for a hippy music festival...actually, that's not a bad idea...[thoughtful face]...but you know what I mean. ACTUALLY, I don't even know what I mean, so go ahead and suggest anything! As long as it's still...you know 'T' or under...and I'll get around to writing and posting it eventually :) )  
**

* * *

**So this chapter is part 1 of the Leo VS Chase, because some people were wanting some parental fluff...which isn't exactly in this chapter, but will be in part 2. It also includes Leo's dad, (I had a whole other ending to this chapter planned with him having a major part, but then it got too long so I moved it to the start of part 2.)  
**

**I don't own lab rats, which is sort of a good thing, because if I had my way there would be no missions, just heaps and heaps of fluff. Or missions used just to injure someone to write something fluffy about...**

**Enjoy :)**

**OH AND CHASE STILL THINKS DONALD IS HIS DAD! (I know there are eventually going to be times when I go out of order with the episodes...I'm still trying to work out whether I should have a chapter with the lab rats dealing with Donald not being their dad or not... But for now they're all blissfully unaware until I specifically say so.)**

* * *

Leo sitting on the carpet cross legged as he went through the materials Chase had laid out on the coffee table in a sort of childlike glee, murmuring his appreciation whenever he saw another bigger and shinier holograph board or data pad, before continuing on.

Chase was happy to allow Leo to look, the touching thing he wasn't so crazy about, but Leo was leaving soon to watch some sporting event, so Chase only had to fret over the idea of his step-brother breaking anything for a little bit longer.

"So what's all of this stuff for again?" Leo asked as he used one of the metal out rims as a mirror to check his face paint and make sure the blue could still be seen in his hair.

"Mr Davenport and I are going to build a set of phones that work via holographic communications, for my science project."

"Oh." Leo visibly lost his interest, "Wouldn't you rather build a laser? Or a remote controlled robot butler. Or a remote controlled butler that shoots lasers!"

"Errm, I'd rather stick with the phone idea," Chase muttered, scratching the back of his head.

Mr Davenport came and sat down beside Chase, "Okay, we can go through the logistics up here and then take everything down into the lab when we're creating the mainframe."

The youngest Davenport nodded, pulling out some of the sketches he had done before hand, "I made these, as a rough outline," he passed them over to his dad, who barely glanced down at them, "I mean they're not perfect, it's just maybe as a starting point or-"

Chase was cut off by the phone ringing, which Leo jumped up to answer, "I'll get it!"

"_No really, I thought you were just running towards the phone for fun."_

"**Oooh, temper temper."**

"_Seriously. Why do you always have to appear whenever I specifically tell you to stay away?"_

"**Touchy too, it's alright- I was going anyway. I just found a box marked 'personal' up here, is there anything you want to say before I divulge in its contents, **_**Chasey**_**?"**

"_Stay out of my stuff!"_

There was a dark chuckle before Chase felt Spike's presence move on to his frontal lobe to sift through his memories, because Spike rarely listened to Chase anyway.

During the seemingly short time the bionic had been conversing with his alter ego, Leo was just finishing up his phone call.

"-Yeah, I understand…maybe next time, right?...Uh huh…..oh no, it's okay…Yeah, I hadn't even gotten ready yet….okay…yep….you too. Bye."

Leo slouched back over, kicking over the foam finger he had propped up on the couch for when he was leaving.

"Hey, Buddy, what's wrong?" Mr Davenport asked, placing Chase's plans down on the table and moving over to where Leo was sitting -_cough, _sulking,_ cough_- on the couch.

"My dad just called to cancel."

"Oh well," Chase bit his lip, "but hey, come on Mr Davenport, we've got work to do."

"Not now, Chase."

"Bu-"

"Why'd he cancel?"

"He forgot that he already had plans with Felicity. It's okay though, maybe I can help you guys instead?"

"N-"

"That sounds like a great idea, Leo," Mr Davenport clapped Leo on the back, cutting Chase off.

"This is my science project though, I'm barely allowed to ask you for help," Chase argued.

"I'm sure that it'll be fine," Mr Davenport replied, shooting Chase a very pointed look that told him that all arguments were futile and a waste of breath.

This was unfair. It was_ his_ project, _his_ one on one time with _his _dad. It's not Chase's problem that Leo's dad couldn't take him out, how did that make it right that Leo could just cut into his Chase and Donald time?

Sooner or later Chase would never have any alone time with his father. Leo was already allowed in on 'The Call' which Chase was still getting over, because no matter what anyone said, it was unfair that Chase had to spend years on the sidelines begging his dad to let him help before he was even given a minor role, and Leo could walk in and be handed a job on par with Chase's.

"…Fine." Chase finally mumbled dejectedly.

"I'm sorry that you can't go to your soccer game…." Mr Davenport sighed to his step-son.

"Oh I could still go, I've got the tickets right here," Leo pointed down at his backpack, "It's just not the same going in by yourself. I mean sure they're court side, and they took weeks to save up for, but it just wouldn't be as fun by myself."

Chase could practically see the cogs turning inside Mr Davenport's head.

"Courtside? Interesting," Chase tried to speed up the conversation, "I suggest we start with basic coding, so we can save some time during later stages."

"How much do you want to go?" Donald questioned, ignoring his youngest.

"A lot."

"I could always take you…..I mean I don't really know that much about soccer, but I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Really?" Leo grinned, "That would be awesome Big D!"

"_Really!"_ Chase practically shrieked, "Mr Davenport that is a terrible idea."

* * *

Chase couldn't believe it, he thought that he and Leo had an understanding. Ever since 'The Call' incident they had been especially careful to avoid stepping on each other's toes, but here Leo was practically dragging Mr Davenport out the door.

"But Mr Davenport, you were supposed to help me with my science project, remember?" Chase tried to calmly remind the older male, raising a screwdriver like it would help fix his father's skewed priorities.

But Donald was already by the door, pulling his coat on, "ahh, right. Well I'm sure you can handle it, it's not like you needed my help anyway."

"….But that's not the point," Chase mumbled miserably as the front door slammed shut.

He then, in a completely profession and not at all childish way, threw the screwdriver away and collapsed on the couch with his arms crossed. This was not sulking at all.

* * *

The door swung open again about half an hour later, and, the youngest bionic looked up hopefully, like maybe his dad changed his mind and had come back to help with the science project Chase had brought up about weeks ago- not minutes ago.

But it wasn't, "Oh, hi Rose," Chase attempted a smile.

Grandma Rose stood in the doorway clutching her oversized handbag, surveying the room with a look of distaste. Finally her sweeping gaze landed on Chase.

"Oh, hello sweetheart," she looked around once more, "Where is everyone?"

"Mrs Davenport's filling in for someone at work, Bree's at Caitlin's house, Adam's asleep and Mr Davenport and Leo just left to go see some team play some championship game."

"So I drag my sorry old self all the way over to visit my daughter and grandbabies and they're all busy? You know back in my day family used to do everything together and when Grandma visited we all came running."

Chase sat up straighter on the couch, "I'm sorry, Rose."

"Oh, it's not your fault dear. It just shows how much I'm needed here."

"Umm, I beg your pardon?"

"Well obviously I need to be here if they left a baby like you home alone-"

"But Adam's downstairs."

"To think, the doors unlocked-"

"And I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"A mad, crazy person could just waltz on in here-"

"There's a security gate."

This stopped Rose mid rant, "Oh no sweetheart, that gate isn't any better than the last one, I practically just drove on in."

Chase pondered this for a moment, it reminded him to never be a dividing force between Grandma Dooley and her family.

"And to think they left my favourite grandbaby by himself."

Wait, "Favourite?"

Rose sat down on the couch then opened up her bag and began shuffling through it, "Oh you bet your bottom dollar sugar, look at you sitting here with Grandma while everyone else is too busy with their fancy technology and sports."

"What about Leo?"

"Well….He's always been my grandson, he's had plenty of time being the favourite. Besides, he's got competition now, you don't just become Grandma's favourite by being the only child anymore, there are four of you now."

Chase smiled at this- Grandma Dooley really had accepted Adam, Bree and him as her grandchildren- and gestured towards the kitchen, "Would you like a cup of tea?"

She looked up from her bag, "Oh, I knew I picked right- that would be great baby, just be careful with the kettle." Chase nodded in affirmation as he jogged to the kitchen, "No running inside, baby."

"Sorry Grandma," Chase paused. Grandma? But Rose didn't correct him.

"Now when the tea's done I've got some hard candy for us, I know Leo likes the bran fruitcake so I'll save it for him, but if you want a slice or two I'm sure he wouldn't notice. Then maybe we can see if there's any board games around and have a couple rounds one-on-one, I don't want no TV rotting your brain."

"That sounds great Grandma," Chase beamed from by the kettle.

"What's all of this junk on the table?"

"I was going to use it for my science project."

"Oh, baby, let Grandma help you fix something up, you don't need such fancy equipment for a good ole' fashioned science project."

* * *

When Leo and Mr Davenport got home, they were obviously still used to the atmosphere that had surrounded them during the game because they came up to the front door laughing and hooting- basically being far too loud for that time of night….or morning. But when they walked inside they were immediately shushed.

Leo was the first to break out of his sudden trance, "Grandma!" he exclaimed excitedly as he rushed across to give her a hug.

"Oh, look at you," Rose murmured affectionately, clutching Leo's face in her hands, "You're getting cuter every day."

"Hi Rose," Donald grinned outwardly at his mother-in-law. (In his head he was mentally cringing).

"Mmhmm," she gave him a disapproving once over, "I've got to have a word with you. What were you thinking leaving a baby home alone?"

"Baby?" Mr Davenport questioned.

"Your nephew, Chase was practically scared stiff when I walked through the door- he must have thought I was an attacker or something- and what could a fifteen year old do to protect themselves against an intruder?"

"I'm sure Chase was fine, Adam's-"

"Downstairs, I know. Don't you talk like you think you know better than me, back when I was young I used to listen to my elders."

"Where is Chase anyway?" Leo interrupted after he escaped his grandmother's grip, noticing two empty cups and a game of Snakes and Ladders set up on the coffee table. All of the materials for Chase's science project were placed on the dining room table, practically untouched.

"Oh, he's a good boy, went to bed at a reasonable time. Unlike you, what are you still doing up young man?"

"We just got home."

Grandma Rose gave him an incredulous look, "That's no excuse, bed now!"

Leo made a tactical retreat (bolted out of the room).

"When Tasha gets home, we're having a serious discussion about taking care of children."

"I wouldn't really classify Chase as a child."

"Don't you contradict me, now come on and help me get my bags out of the car," Rose ushered Donald to the door.

"But aren't they those there?" He pointed to the two, rather large, suitcases in the corner of the room.

"Oh no, those are just my overnight bags, but by the looks of thing's I'll be needing to stay for much, much longer."

* * *

The next morning Chase went up to the kitchen and stuck his head in the fridge, "Grandma, it's not hardening!"

Rose stuck her head up from where she was knitting, because back in her day it was practically a rite of passage to know how to knit, and, she had already made plans to teach the youngest Davenport later.

"It'll take a few days, but don't worry, Grandma knows what she's doing- now come here and hold my string for me."

Chase obliged happily.

* * *

"Hey Chase, do you still need a hand with your science project, I've got an hour free that I could help you pull something together in."

Chase looked up from the book he was reading on knitting to Mr Davenport, "Oh, no thanks, Grandma Rose helped me last night- It's practically all finished."

Donald tried not to seem too upset that his mother-in-law had helped his son with his science project, even though it was supposed to be a father-son sort of thing, but anyways.

"Why are you reading a book on….knitting?"

"Oh, Grandma's planning to show me how to after she's finished shopping with Tasha, so I'm doing a bit of light reading before she comes back."

Donald exhaled almost silently (still loud enough for Chase to hear though) before turning away with a nod.

* * *

Leo wandered down the stairs and met the lovely sight of his grandma sitting beside Chase on the couch, with her hands over his on the knitting needles as she directed him through the process of knitting.

"Uh Grandma?" Leo questioned when he reached the bottom step.

"Oh, hi Leo," Grandma Dooley said without even looking up from the grinning Chase and his knitting progress.

"What are you doing?" he drawled in an almost sing song voice.

At this Rose looked up, "I was supposed to be teaching Chase how to knit, but it looks like he doesn't need that much help."

Chase looked up and grinned at Leo's grandma, "eyes on the knitting, baby," she lightly chided.

"Sorry Grandma."

"Uh, Chase?" Leo got a grunt in response, "Don't you have some studying you need to get done?"

Chase paused for a moment, thinking, "No."

"Any homework?"

"Nope."

"A word."

"No- wait, what?"

"Pardon."

"Sorry Grandma, pardon?"

"Can I have a word with you?"

Chase obliged, excusing himself before quickly standing up and following Leo down the hallway to his room. Then Leo rounded on him.

"What do you think you're doing with my Grandma?"

"Um, what are you talking about?"

"You. Spending time with my Grandma, why? What do you possibly get out of that?"

"You make it sound like spending time with her is more of a chore, I actually enjoy her company."

"I bet you're already Grandma's favourite then."

"As a matter of fact, I am," Chase smirked, puffing out his chest, "problem?"

There was a long silence where both boys just stared at each other.

"….No."

Then Leo spun on his heels and skulked off.

Whether he did it on purpose or not, Leo made his way to Mr Davenport and the two spent time together talking about sport and Big D's latest invention. Chase could hear everything they were saying, all the jokes and references that even Chase's vast amount of knowledge couldn't decipher. He'd just gritted his teeth and decided that he might as well spend a couple more hours with Grandma Rose.

* * *

Leo sat beside Donald, practically grinding his teeth together in anger. He couldn't believe Chase, he thought they had made an agreement after 'The Call' that they would try and keep everything nice and friendly. Apparently not though. Apparently backstabbing and stealing was something Leo should have added to the table while he had the chance.

How dare Chase do that? First he steals his mum, and there's no way Chase could deny that, he's heard him call her 'Mum' on numerous occasions. Now he's stealing his grandma from him? Sure he may not love her as much, but Grandma Rose is still his by blood.

Maybe Tasha doesn't love Chase as much as he knows she loves him, but regardless, Leo never signed up for sharing his parent.

If his dad hadn't cancelled, Mr Davenport could have been down in the lab with Chase, working on his stupid science project and away from Grandma Rose, she wouldn't be calling Chase her favourite.

"_Maybe if you hadn't taken Donald with you….Adam was downstairs, you could have woken him,"_ a voice whispered in the back of his head. But Leo quickly blocked it out, there was no way he was taking the blame for this.

"-and I said, 'no Your Honour' I'm awesome!" Mr Davenport finished another recount proving how spectacular and rich he was, laughing hysterically at the memory.

"Haha, Big D, you're hilarious."

"Really?"

"No."

Both males started laughing, though neither really knew why.

"Hey, so I've got a meeting this afternoon, I know, a meeting on a Sunday, right? Usually I'd see if Chase was free but-"

"He's busy knitting," Leo interjected.

"I know, which is why I'm asking you if you want to come out and check out Davenport Industries with me," then at Leo's enthusiasm he added a, "as long as you promise not to touch anything."

"This is going to be awesome!"

Donald didn't have the heart to take away from his enthusiasm, so he picked up his tablet and the two made their way to the front door.

"Hey, where're you going?" Chase called across in small voice, he was clutching the knitting needles waiting for Rose to get back from the bathroom.

"To Davenport Industries, I was going to sit in on a meeting and I was just going to set Leo up with some product testing," Donald supplied as he opened the front door.

"Oh."

Mr Davenport never let Chase go in and help out with product testing, the only few times he had been in he had sat through hour long meetings about shipping and tax. Why did his dad always do that? Always watch movies with Leo and take him to soccer games and let him play around with his inventions at his work.  
He was obviously not interested in helping him with his science project and then when he had finished it, Mr Davenport had acted disappointing. There was no pleasing him. As juvenile as it made him sound, the only way he could describe the situation was as 'unfair'.

* * *

**So, what did you think? I hope you liked it!(I've literally had this saved on my computer forever, it's so nice to finally post it...well half of it.)**

**Oh, if you guys aren't sure what a coffee table is, it's a small low table in a living room (the round table they have in front of their couch) I'm not sure if wherever you guys are from have a different word for it, so I decided I'd say what it was just in case.**

**Thank you once again for reviewing, seriously, it's so MIND BOGGLINGLY AMAZING! I never knew how happy a couple of sentences on my phone could make me...But now I do, I feel like I literally feed of reviews now...it's like my happy fix (I think I may have a problem :O )**

**Anyways, since I'm posting this at night, I'm planning on posting another chapter in the morning (when I wake up) but it won't be related to this one. I'll probably post the second half to this tomorrow night.**

**Thanks for reading, I can't wait to see you all tomorrow :) **

**P.S. I feel like I keep writing Spike...and I'm not sure why (but I really like it...)  
P.P.S. You may or may not have noticed, but I always feel a tiny bit out of my comfort zone when writing Adam or Leo...because they have such BIG personalities that are hard to capture. But I think I'm getting better -which is a plus :) So, I'm sorry if they ever sound a bit off. (But then again, I have gotten some lovely reviews that tell me that you like Adam, which you can not believe how SUPER GREAT it is to hear/read!)  
**

**So that's all from me, bye bye! Thank you!**


	11. I Won't Say I Missed You (Out Loud)

**Hi everyone,**

**I'm SO SORRY that I didn't post this morning, I accidently slept in and was almost late for school. But don't worry, I'll post the second half to Leo VS Chase tomorrow (hopefully) morning.**

**Firstly, THANK YOU so much to all of you INCREDIBLY DELIGHTFUL beings who reviewed and faved and followed, you're all SIMPLY ASTOUNDING in your AWESOMENESS! Seriously, WOW. I just….WOW.**

**Okay so this chapter is by far not my best (sorry HowtoRiseBigTime, but I hope I still did it justice!)**

**I don't own Lab Rats…..oh well.**

**This chapter was suggested by HowtoRiseBigTime and so, without further ado, read on!**

**WARNING: There are OCs, sorry, couldn't really get around that one (actually I probably could have, but….yeah)**

**Oh and the first little bit is from Donald's perspective :)**

* * *

_Okay, it's just a sleep over -Leo goes on them all the time- you'll be fine. It's just one night._

Mr Davenport watched as Chase fidgeted on the doorstep of Drew's small little unit, obviously listening to the footsteps from the back of the house grow louder as someone jogged up to the front door.

_Is this even the right house? Maybe we should just forget about this and go home, Chase isn't ready for this yet._

He squeezed his son's shoulder just before the door opened, revealing a women who looked barely thirty. Chase was right when he said that Drew's mother had had him early.

"Hi, come in, 'xuce the mess, I've been trying to get the boys to clean up all day but they've just left it as a pigsty," the blond smiled as she ushered them inside the little brick house.

The first thing both Mr Davenport and Chase noticed was the smell, it wasn't a bad smell, just an interesting aroma- like disinfectant mixed with old spices. The second thing they noted was how tiny the house was, there was only room for a couch and small TV, to the side was the kitchenette and then there was a small hallway with three rooms. The third thing they actually took in was the mess, clothes were literally everywhere, stains were all over the carpet, dirty dishes were overflowing in the sink and there were mounds of washing and DVD's in odd places, such as a pile of folded t-shirts on top of the TV or a stack of DVD's above the oven.

The woman wiped her hands down her jeans, clearing her throat as she too took in how deplorable her house must look to whom her son had mentioned were billionaires.

"You must be Chase, it's nice to finally meet you- Drew's down the hall, first door on the right, take your stuff down with you. Maybe your presence can motivate him into finally pumping up the mattress- oh, I hope you're okay with a blow up mattress," she spoke, almost as fast as Bree, as she smiled at Chase and pointed out the hallway, even though it was right in front of them.

"That's fine, whatever's easiest, Ma'am," the youngest bionic grinned back.

"Aww, aren't you just…." she trailed off, beaming down at Chase before he decided to leave and go hunt down his friend.

Finally she made eye contact with Donald, "You must be his father, I'm Tammy," she extended her hand out almost immediately, which Mr Davenport took and shook firmly.

"Donald."

"I'm so sorry about how last minute this all was, we just moved a couple of weeks ago and Drew insisted on having Chase over for his birthday."

"It's fine," Donald smiled, while trying to simultaneously stop himself from hyperventilating over all the possible catastrophes that could occur while his youngest was sleeping over at someone else's house.

"Umm….what was I going to say?" Tammy hummed before she paused for a moment, flickering her fringe out of her eyes before her face lit up again, "I remember. We're going to be eating pizza for dinner, bed will be at eleven- but you know teenagers- and we'll drop Chase over tomorrow after lunch, considering Drew usually sleeps in until then."

"That all sounds great."

The two adults stood there in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Well I best be off," Mr Davenport finally proclaimed.

"Oh, uh, do you want to say goodbye to Chase?"

The two teens chose that moment to walk back out into the main room, Donald immediately noting the alarm bells starting up in his head when his eyes fell on the shaggy haired, half asleep, scowling boy who came in with his son in all black attire.

"Drew, this is Donald, Chase's father," Tammy smiled at her son, seemingly oblivious to the blatant unrepressed angst dripping off of her child.

"Yeah, whatever. Do you know where I put the hydrogen peroxide?" he drawled out in a monotone, flicking his eyes to survey Donald once before turning back to his mother.

Tammy paused for a moment, thinking, before, "Didn't you use it all up last week?"

"But I want to show Chase something."

"Well sweetie, we don't have any -unless you want the stuff I got from the hairdressers-"

"Urrg, that's only 6%. No Mum, we'll just play video games," at least now there was a flash of emotion on his face and a different, less robotic, tone in his voice.

"Are you sure, you've been doing it all da-"

Drew grunted in reply, cutting his mother off as he led Chase over to one of the piles of games in the corner by the television. The two boys then began to shuffle through the games, looking for the best one to play, occasionally pulling one up to show the other, before wordlessly placing it back down a moment later.

"I'm leaving now, Chase," Donald hesitantly called over.

Chase nodded, but ultimately didn't look up, "Okay, bye."

Donald paused in the doorway, looking across at the two teens, until Drew whispered something to Chase which made him stand up, come across and hug Mr Davenport goodbye.

"Call me if there are any glitches," he whispered into Chase's hair before he walked out of the funny smelling unit and onto the street of a neighbourhood he'd specifically programmed his GPS to generally avoid at all costs. But at least his son had made a friend.

* * *

Chase was taking turns with Drew on the Xbox he had set up in his room. They had eventually chosen a tactical game where they had to plan out a strategic attack formation to destroy enemy space ships. It filled both boys need for something educational and Drew's repressed need for violence that neither felt was worth bringing up. It was nice for once to not be playing some shooter or car racing game, the ones that Adam and Leo seemed to adore.

They didn't talk much, but then again Drew never really did. He only ever talked about science or video games, considering he spent the majority of his time awake surgically attached to the controller in his hands and TV by his unmade bed.

"So, we're going to sleep in the lounge room, I'd say in here but Sebastian is next door and he has to go to bed by nine," Drew said as he swapped the bowl of popcorn in Chase's hand for the controller in his.

Chase had worked out fairly early that Sebastian was Drew's ten year old brother who held a scary resemblance to his mother, which explained why she subconsciously held a preference for him over her eldest, that and how she was more mentally prepared for a child the second time around. Drew's words not his.

Chase was yet to meet Sebastian, he'd apparently locked himself in his room for the week, conducting an interrogation on his teddy bear after watching Toy Story. But he always fell asleep at nine and if he was woken up he had a tendency to cry and wake his parents up, which would ultimately get Drew into trouble.

"Okay."

Drew didn't bat an eyelash when Chase made speedy work of the almost childishly easy level. Then again, Drew seemed to have one of those 'I won't ask questions if you won't' rules.

It was refreshing.

* * *

After they ate pizza, in Drew's room, because he didn't like his father and couldn't stand the idea of eating with other people -besides Chase- who he seemed to make an exception for.

"_This is Chase, he's alright," had been his introduction to the exhausted man walking through the door with the pizza boxes._

"_Hi Cha-"_

"_We're going to go eat in my room now," Drew had monotonously droned over the top of his father, as he grabbed two of the pizza boxes and left._

The rest of the night was spent talking about the theoretical possibility of time travel and making periodic table jokes. However there were moments where Chase had to catch himself from explaining something to Adam, who wasn't even there. Or when he'd eaten his pizza, he went to pass off his crusts to Bree, but she was a half an hour car ride away.

"You, 'kay?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, it's just…." Chase trailed off.

_'I miss them, my family, and I don't know why. I feel like I'm not secure, but I did a perimeter check and this house is 100% safe.I have this strange urge to just go home, but I like it here. I feel lonely, but I'm not alone, my stomach hurts, but there was nothing wrong with the pizza.'_

"First time away from home?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

Drew then proceeded to pick apart everything Chase had done throughout the day that ultimately led to Drew deducing that this was not only his first sleep over, but first real trip away from home.

"Oh." Was Chase really being that obvious?

"Don't worry, you're not that obvious- I'm just observant. I shouldn't have invited you over to a sleep over for your first out of home experience, I apologise. However, while you are here -and it is my birthday- we might as well try out that microscope you gave me as a present. I'm sure that there are many materials and substances around here that we can study."

For the first time in the last hour, Chase gave a genuine smile.

* * *

As opposed to what Tammy had said to Mr Davenport, Drew was very particular about his bed time, he told Chase that he had fallen asleep at exactly 11:07pm every night for the past five years. Chase obviously didn't believe him, partly because of the difficulty of falling asleep at the exact same time every night for 1826.21 days, and also because he had learnt never to accept anything without solid facts.

But here he was watching the clock click over from 11:06 to…And his friend fell asleep. No goodnight, no nothing, just one second his eyes were open and the next they were closed and he was lightly snoring.

_Now what?_

Chase stuck his head under the blankets and quickly flicked his phone on, there was a new message- which he obviously opened.

"_Dearest Lady Davenport," and suddenly there was Adam on his screen, in broad day light, "check this out!"_

_The shaky camera filming flipped across to Bree giving the camera a thumbs up from where she was standing on the roof, before holding a hula-hoop over her head._

_A second later the camera violently shook as Adam must have thrown a football, which flew through the hula-hoop, from his position 800 or so meters away from the roof._

"_Did it make it?" Adam's disembodied voice practically screamed across at Bree._

"_Yeah!" Bree shouting back, once more giving the camera a thumbs up._

"_If you weren't at Dew's house that would be you," Adam appeared again, nodding to the ball Bree had retrieved and was waving in the air, before she super-sped down. Adam smiled goofily at the camera for a moment, before Leo's muffled voice could be picked up off camera.  
"Drew, really, who names their kid _Drew_?" The oldest Davenport questioned the off-screen Leo, before he remembered the video, waved at the camera and made an abrupt, "Bye!"_

Then the video cut off.

The smile on Chase's face left just as suddenly.

The youngest Davenport then checked for any more messages, but there weren't any, so there wasn't any harm in sending a little goodnight to everyone, right? Then again they were probably all busy, or sleeping, or busy sleeping.

Chase put his phone back down, and tried to get comfortable on the blow-up mattress. But he just couldn't, blankets were heavy, why wasn't the temperature in the room moderated so he didn't need any? Why did he keep sinking into the mattress, was that normal? Since when was sleeping so…horizontal.

Chase, ever the problem solver, decided that it would be better to sleep somewhere else, so he grabbed his phone and made his way to the bathroom. Once he had successfully locked the door, he clambered over to the shower and climbed inside. Sure it was a different shape from his capsule, it didn't moderate heat, and the tiles below his feet were cold and the walls slightly damp, but the four walls were comforting. So he sighed and tried to make the best out of his new sleeping quarters.

* * *

He was up again after a couple of hours of fitful sleep, there was an absence of something, where was the sound of the central heating working through his capsule, where were the flashing lights of the lab? This room was just too dark, cold and empty. It was too quiet, which was something Chase never imagined he'd ever complain about.

The youngest Davenport bit his lip, he knew something that could help, but did he really need to, was it worth it?

Once again he sighed and pulled out his phone.

"Hello, Davenport speaking," came the drowsy voice down the line, "the handsome, billionaire inventor-"

"Dad?" Chase cut him off as soon as he heard his father talk.

"_Chase?_ What's wrong, are you okay!" Chase never called him dad anymore, well at least not out loud.

"I'm okay," he mumbled in an uncharacteristically small voice, "….what are you up to?"

"Well, I was sleeping. But now I'm worried, are you sure you're okay? No glitches or anything?"

"I'm fine, just….you know."

"Bad dream?"

"I don't think I've actually been asleep long enough to dream."

"It's that Drew kid, isn't it? I told you that you weren't ready fo-"

"No, no, nothing like that. I guess I just…..I've never really been away from home before."

"Oh. Ohhhhh," Mr Davenport suddenly realised, "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Just, stay there," Chase murmured, already feeling the levels of Oxycontin in his brain increase and the stress-marking cortisol wash away as Mr Davenport began rambling on about new inventions and making egotistical comments about himself. It was all so familiar, so much like _home_.

The rational part of his brain was telling him that these emotions he was feeling were completely irrational, but the more primal part of him was just listening to the voice on the other side of the phone.

* * *

Donald had moved out of the bedroom and outside onto the balcony, where he could look out at all of the tiny lights, of far off houses, in the distance.

Part of him was glad Chase rang, he too had been feeling a certain…anxiety over being parted from his youngest bionic for so long. This wasn't like school, this was overnight, where Adam, Bree and Chase seemed to glitch the most if they didn't get the chance to recharge their chips in their capsules. Sure Bree had stayed over at Caitlin's house, but this was different...somehow.

There was a very big part of Donald Davenport, however, that told him that this was all wrong. He shouldn't have his son on the other end of the phone calling because he was homesick, he shouldn't be up so early in the morning trying to comfort someone over the phone. He was an inventor, he had three bionic teenagers who he had planned to send away once fully trained. But ever since Leo and Tasha came, he found it harder and harder to not look at projects A, B and C as his children, as not part of the family he could see developing before his eyes.

It was all so hard, so confusing. He'd always tried to keep a wall up between him and his kids, but even in his head he was referring to them as his own, so he had lost that battle. Truthfully, he'd never wanted to be a father, no because he didn't like kids, but because he couldn't deal with the constant uncertainty they brought. Once you had a child, you weren't just concerned about yourself anymore, you had someone else to take care of, someone else who depended on you. And that petrified Donald, more than he could ever say.

"Hey Chase," he hated doing this, but he knew it was for the best, "listen, you're going to be dropped off a bit after lunch tomorrow, I'll speak to you then, okay?"

"But Mr Da-"

Donald knew that if he listened to Chase, all resolve would be gone, so he hung up and slowly went back inside, trying to remember the exact moment where the lines had been blurred and he actually started really caring about project A,B and C...But then he had to deal with the very small part of him that told him 'always'.

* * *

The next day when there was a knock at the door, both Adam and Bree casually jumped on the couch, like they hadn't been watching from the upstairs window. They didn't want to admit how odd it felt without Chase there, sure Bree had stayed overnight at Caitlin's house before, but that was different, Caitlin lived a short walk away. Not a half an hour drive away. It was weird without Chase, he was always the little annoying voice of reason that neither bionics wanted to admit they missed.

Leo was the one who answered the door, happy to see his brother again, and tell him all about everything he missed in the last x amount of hours.

Chase was happily chattering on about showers with that creepy, silent kid from Leo's English class.

"Hey, Leo!" Chase greeted, "oh, this is Drew, Drew this is Leo."

"I know, he's in my English class," Drew drawled, before he turned around to Chase, "goodbye, perhaps when you come over next time I can show you my experiment with hydrogen peroxide."

"That sounds great Drew, thanks for having me," Drew nodded formally, then turned on his heels and walked away, completely disregarding everyone but his friend.

As soon he was gone though, Leo charged at Chase and pulled him into a hug, which he gladly returned.

"Oh no, it's back!" Eddy cried, his emoticon turning into a frowny-face.

Chase glanced at Eddy, before turning to see Adam and Bree on the couch, Bree on her mobile and Adam holding an upside down Traveller's Guide to Morocco.

"Did'ya miss me?"

"Nah," Bree replied casually, not looking up from her phone.

"You left?"

But they all shared a smile, besides Eddy, he was still moaning in the background, muttering about updating his security system to stop vermin getting back in.

"Oh Chase, you're back- DONALD, HE'S BACK!" Tasha came scurrying in from down the hall.

She pulled Chase into a hug and started rattling off a series of questions about how he liked his first sleepover experience.

Donald slowly walked into the room, making eye contact with his son for a moment, before sliding up to beside his wife, "good time?"

"Yeah."

Eventually everyone got bored of hanging around, and there was only so much one could hear about science before Leo decided it was high time to show his mum that 'yes, he had done his homework and should be allowed to go play ultimate volleyball with Adam'.

Both elder bionics vanished too, Bree getting a phone call from one of her friends that she just had to answer immediately and Adam because….well he just sort of walked off.

Finally it was just Chase and Donald. They looked at each other for a long time, wondering who was going to make the first move.

"Well, I should probably go and put this stuff away," Chase indicated the pillow he'd borrowed from a spare bedroom and his overnight bag.

Donald nodded, and let his son leave, but not before pulling him into a quick 'not hug' which ended up lasting at least a minute. In which Chase promised to never go on another sleep over again and Davenport agreed that it was an excellent idea, because no matter what neither of them wanted to admit that they missed the other (not out loud at least).

Donald then invited Chase down into the lab to help him out with the 'totally amazing invention I was working on while you were gone'.

The brunette happily complied, it was good to be home.

* * *

**What did you think? I know, I know, not my best. I'm sorry for the OCs and the OOCness of the actual characters. I needed someone for Chase to go to the house of and I wanted to have Chase missing everyone…..yeah.**

**Oh and Oxycontin is a hormone in our brain that is known as the 'love hormone' it generally increases when we're around a loved one, or are talking to them. A study done (in some year) proved that it is increased when we are on the phone to a loved one (like mum and dad), which reduces stress levels and anxiety.**

**Thanks once again to all of you REMARKABLE OUTSTANDING and ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS people for everything!**

**Catch you tomorrow **


	12. He's Okay (Leo vs Chase)

**Hi everyone!**

**Sorry these A/Ns are in a hurry, I'm running late for school (again- yet I've never needed a late pass)  
Anyways THANK YOU all so much for reviewing, you GRAND FANTASTICAL beings, you. I squealed, again. My mum now thinks I'm even weirder (sigh).  
**

**So this is Leo vs Chase part 2. I hope you enjoy it! It takes off right from where the last chapter left off :)**

* * *

"Well, have fun with your knitting, don't wait up," Leo had grinned as he once again dragged Donald through the door.

While the two drove away, neither deigned to look back, or they'd see Chase standing forlornly in the doorway….well at least until the phone rang.

"Hello, Davenport residence, Chase speaking."

"…Hi, Chase was it? I was wondering if I could speak with Leo, please."

"And may I ask whose calling?"

"James Davis."

"Sorry James, but Leo's not here at the moment, I can take a message, though, if you want."

"Yeah- um- can you tell him that-" there was a muffled voice in the background, "well firstly, Felicity says hi and secondly, his fa-"

"Oh, you're Leo's dad!" Chase exclaimed.

"Yeah, and you're one of his new step brothers, right?"

Chase made an affirming noise.

"Chase, baby, you are you talking to?"

The youngest Davenport placed his hand over the mouth piece, "Leo's dad," he replied.

Rose raised her eyebrows and motioned for the phone, which Chase happily passed over.

"Hello James, yes- this is Rose- oh good, I see your memory still serves you well..." Rose continued on with Leo's father for a few more minutes before passing the phone back to Chase, who hung it back up.

"Hey guys," Adam grinned as he strolled into the kitchen, "what's going on?"

"What's going on is I have a date in half an hour and nothing to wear!" Bree moaned as she materialised next to her younger brother.

"Where's Donald?" Tasha called as she came downstairs from where she'd been busy working on her pottery in a spare room.

"He took Leo to Davenport Industries," Chase supplied gloomily.

"Your ex just rang," Rose added.

"I have a date in half an hour," Bree continued on.

"I just wanted a cup of pudding, but we're all out of it!" Adam practically cried as he pulled his head out of the freezer.

"Wait, start again," Tasha silenced everyone, "Where did he take my baby? Who just rang? What's this about a date? And what do you mean we're out of pudding? I bought a new slab of them on Friday!"

Tasha received one bionic groaning into the couch, one mother giving her an 'I told you so' look, one girl fretting over the state of her hair and another teenager crying over the apparent lack of pudding.

Great. Just great.

* * *

Leo had a wonderful time at Davenport Industries, he and Mr Davenport really seemed to be connecting, until he accidentally called Leo 'Chase' instead of well…..Leo. He didn't even notice he did it, as he prattled on about density and reactors.

So Chase won again, even when he wasn't there, he was still Davenport's favourite.

* * *

It was the morning that Chase's science project was due in, what he had created wasn't anything near as mind boggling as his actual laser pen, or exact replica of Pompeii with the magma erupting volcano, or the robot, or the self-cleaning and auto adjusting sunglasses. But it was still something. Mr Daniels had told him to aim for a simpler project idea (which he thought he had done with the volcano, but apparently that was still too advanced) so this fitted in perfectly with that concept.

"What is it?" Adam asked, aiming to poke it, but having his hand swatted away by Chase, who immediately moved to shield his creation.

"It's hard _casein._"

"Huh?"

"Plastic milk."

"Ohh," Adam grinned, finally understanding, "why didn't you just say so."

Chase shook his head, no comment.

"Milk and vinegar? Really Chase, I expected something a bit more….grand," Mr Davenport quipped as he passed the kitchen bench with a piece of toast in his hand.

Leo decided it was the perfect moment to 'casually' stroll in. He then immediately gravitating towards Mr Davenport, "Morning, Big D, Adam" he'd smiled, then he nodded a more forced, "_Chase_."

Chase ignored Leo, who was obviously still upset about Chase 'stealing his grandma' as he had so eloquently put it to Bree (in which Chase could counter that Leo was stealing his dad),

"Mr Daniels isn't looking for grand, and despite how simple it is…..it seems perfect."

Chase nodded his head after a moment, as if affirming his statement. Mr Davenport shrugged. The man then turned to pat Leo's head awkwardly when the boy got too close in a type of 'I know you're there, this is me giving you attention because I don't really know what you want' way. Rose took that moment to appear.

She looked around the room before her eyes landed on the science project, "Oh, see baby, I told you it would all work out!"

"I know Grandma, thank you," Chase smiled, allowing Rose to pull him across and plant a kiss on his cheek (which was something he never let anyone do, Donald noted bitterly).

"Now you have science at what time now?"

"10:45-"

"Quarter to eleven."

"Sorry Grandma, quarter to eleven. But the presentations won't start until eleven…..o clock," he added after receiving a pointed look from Mrs Dooley.

"Where will you be?"

"In the gym, Mr Daniels booked it out for the day-"

"What, no P.E.?" Adam moaned.

"-No- so if you ask the office I'm sure they can give you directions."

"Oh, baby, I know where the gym is, somebody had to give the school a thorough inspection if a certain lazy daughter wasn't willing to make sure the school was a hundred percent safe for her only son."

Chase smiled, before looking down at his watch, noting Bree making her entrance with a school bag slung over her shoulder, "We best be leaving now, but I'll see you there."

"I'm looking forward to it, baby," Rose smiled as she kissed Chase's cheek once more, watching him carefully bundle up his science experiment into a box and under his arm, before patting Bree's head affectionately, followed by Adam's arm and Leo's back before sending them on their way.

After they marched out of the door, Donald turned to his mother in-law, "You're going?"

"Of course I'm going, I helped build it and there's no way my grandchild is going to be the only one there without a little family support, now back in my day we all used to jump in the car for any event….Now-"

"Yes, yes, technology ruined everything," he lowered his head at the sharp look he received, "…he invited you?"

"Naturally."

Rose walked off to track down her 'lazy child', while Donald dejectedly thought of how Chase had never invited him to his science presentations, he'd done the opposite, been vague; never revealing times or dates until it was too late.

_When did Chase and Rose grow so close?_

But Donald thought the more appropriate question was,

"When did he stop loving me?"

* * *

"Get in the car."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're driving, now hop to it."

* * *

Chase was grinning proudly as Mr Daniels took in his creation, humming in appreciation every so often as he inspected it closer. Cross checking with the signs beside it to see the explanation the youngest Davenport had written up for his work.

"Well, Mr Davenport, it appears that you've taken my advice into account. A+," the teacher murmured, fixing his glasses and finishing his notes before moving on, "You'll be explaining and demonstrating your work to the class once I'm finished marking. I trust you're prepared."

The brunette nodded before he started mentally preparing himself, sure he'd presented things millions of times- but this was different- this wasn't a fancy molecular multiplier or solar system replica with an actual burning ball of gas for the sun and model planets. It was a simple experiment of milk and vinegar, in fact there seemed to be some experiments in his class that looked far more advanced then plastic milk.

_There was also the fact that Grandma Rose would be there. _Chase had presented in front of countless parents before during presentations such as these, but Donald never came to these things and his siblings avoiding stuff like this like the plague- so nobody that Chase had ever really known had seen him. But that was going to change.

_At least it was only Rose, if it didn't work out well it's not like she's permanently living with him, so things will be fine and- IS THAT MR DAVENPORT?_

Chase spun around and saw both Rose and Mr Davenport standing with the group of parents. Donald was constantly checking his watch and looking around impatiently like he did when he was really busy but stuck somewhere.

Rose was chatting amicably with another older women, from what Chase could pick up they were talking about life in the olden days and how bad this generation of youths were 'besides my grandbabies, of course.'

Crap. Mr Davenport shouldn't be here, he wasn't supposed to be here. There's a difference between doing something in front of your grandma (especially your new grandma) and your dad. Especially if they are a man who has made megabucks off of science and inventions.

And Chase was about to present in front of him.

"Hey Chase, what's up?" It was Dwight, the guy whose idea of a science project was a wad of chewing gum on the top of a pencil, somehow showing 'Graty' with Chase assumed meant 'gravity'.

But Dwight was chill, laid back, he had the whole blonde surfer dude look about him too.

"My dad's here."

"Oh, that sucks dude," he sympathised, although he sounded a bit confused. Chase elaborated,

"He never comes to these things. And when he does, things go bad. Like in grade one when he came to my Spelling Bee, well he really only stuck his head in for a minute –too busy working- and I panicked and stuffed up my word."

'_When I was six, Adam Bree and I were running a Spelling Bee, Mr D was invited but was too busy working. He only came in for a second to grab something, but the thought of failing in front of him made me so nervous that I misspent my word," Chase mentally corrected._

"Oh, yeah."

"He didn't say anything though, he got us ice-cream. But he gets this sort of disappointed look when I don't match his standards 'cuz he wants me to do well but I can't do as well as he wants me to."

"_He didn't say anything though, I didn't really think he was paying that much attention since he was on his phone, but he had looked up before walking out the door. After a minute he or two he came back with some ice-cream for all of us. We'd never had it before, it tasted amazing. Mr Davenport tried to look supportive, but his smile looked forced, like he was actually disappointed but couldn't say anything. I knew it was because of me, because he thought I'd do better but I couldn't."_

"That's tough," Dwight nodded.

"And his standards are so hard to match, and I'm always worried that by the end of the day I'm going to disappoint him and he's going to find this all stupid and boring and-"

"Dude, chill, deep breaths man," Dwight patted Chase on the shoulder, "He's your dad, do you really think he cares? He's gonna love you no matter what you say or do."

Dwight walked off and the presentations in front of the parents and rest of the class started.

* * *

Chase vanished as soon as the presentations were over. He had advanced English next, he was ahead in that and the teachers always automatically marked him as present anyways- so he wandered home.

Things had been going good. Really good. Then Mr Davenport's phone rang and he answered it, he did it subtly so no one else really noticed, but Chase did. Rose hit him on the arm and told him to hang up, but all Donald did was give an apologetic smile, he glanced up at Chase before he….chose the phone call over his presentation. He snuck out the door.

"_Funny, he talks about how much he cares about us and what we do, then he just leaves."_

Chase was spending too much time watching his father leave that he faltered, something practically everyone before him had done, but Chase didn't do. He was bionic, he wasn't supposed to lose his train of thought and stop talking- he wasn't supposed to fumble with his project and stutter- but he did.

He quickly finished up the presentation and left before the crowd had started clapping. Mr Davenport stuck his head back in the room and clapped along with them, but Chase was already gone.

* * *

Rose had left that night.

"I was going to leave yesterday, but I just had to wait and see Chase's presentation," she'd beamed, patting the teen on the arm, "And by gosh, it was a darn sight more interesting than any of the boring stuff the other kids were going on about."

Chase had smiled at the praise, promised Grandma Rose that he would stay away from technology (_likely _story) keep up his knitting (he actually probably would, it was rather relaxing) and 'be good' (which was a matter of opinion, really). She kissed his cheek, hugged her daughter and then went off to find Leo, Adam and Bree.

"Back in my day we all used to line up to say goodbye, now poor old Grandma has to go off searching for her grandbabies just to say goodbye," she'd complained as she rounded the corner.

Chase had good authority (Eddy) to believe that Leo had made quite a show in saying goodbye to his grandma, obviously trying to reclaim his 'favourite grandchild' position and remind the bionics how blood was certainly thicker than water.

* * *

Tasha had sort of seen what was going on between Leo and Chase.  
She had a very nice conversation with her son, parenting book open on her knee, as she told Leo very firmly that this all needed to be stopped.

She said very pointedly that Grandma Rose did not like Chase more than Leo, she may connect more with him- because he was willing to spend more time with her- but years of memories don't go away overnight. There are different kinds of love. Also that he had to look at things from Chase's perspective and blah, blah, blah, other parenting advice out of some overpriced book and:

'_I love you Leo, and I love Adam, Bree and Chase too. You will always be my son, but sometimes we've got to share the love, it doesn't mean I love you any less, just that I have love going out to different people too.'_

She had ended it with a kiss on his forehead and a 'nice talk, honey' as the book suggested. Pretty much Leo left and spent the next hour and a half trying to forget about that odd encounter with his mum (reminding him to never go downstairs after school by himself when he knew his mum was home.)

But after a while, the stuff she said sort of started to make sense…sort of. Leo decided to call Grandma Rose, and then spend the next five minutes telling her who he was, why the rectangle her Son-in-Law gave her was beeping and how it wasn't all witchcraft. (But to her witchcraft and technology were virtually the same thing, so it made no difference).

Then they talked for a bit and he hung up feeling a lot better about himself and his relationship with his grandma, after convincing her that she by no means needed to turn around and come back. Because nobody wanted that.

* * *

Apart from saying goodbye to his Grandma, Chase had also become very good at avoiding Mr Davenport. Well it sort of helps when your brother and home security system finds it amusing and your sister doesn't want to get involved, so you have three allies. Grandma Rose hadn't discouraged him for avoiding Donald all afternoon and evening before she left either, but then again she never really liked Donald.

Finally, after a day of avoidance, Mr D cornered Chase in the lift after telling Eddy to shut the doors and stop the elevator.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"Why did you go to my science presentation?" Chase countered.

It seemed to take a moment to register before Mr Davenport looked slightly hurt, "I was there to show my support to you and your plastic milk. Besides Rose needed a lift after busting up her car and I wasn't going to trust her in one of my self-driving ones."

'_So he wasn't there for me.'_

"Why?"

He paused, "She hates technology enough as it is Chase, then if she likes it Tasha would make me give it to her," Chase looked blankly at Donald, "Oh, you mean- got it- Can't I take an interest in what you're doing?"

Chase felt like muttering 'it's not like you have before' but he refrained.

"I _suppose_."

"I mean it's not like you ever invite me to those things."

"What are you talking about? You're always too busy for them- or you go and then you're outside in five minutes on your phone."

"That doesn't mean I still don't want to come. I mean contrary to popular belief, I don't think money is everything. You're pretty damn important to me too, and I care about what you do."

Chase grunted and looked down.

"What did I miss anyway?"  
"Do you really care?"

"Of course, I was really interesting in all the uses for Plastic Milk. I thought your presentation was better than everyone else's, even though I might be a bit biased."

"Biased?"

"Of course, you're my kid, I'm always going to think that whatever you do is the best."

"Aren't you going to get disappointed and critical when I make a mistake? When I don't meet your standards?"

"Standards, what standards? I have a money dance to do in front of my poorer competitors, I've lost those a long time ago," Donald chuckled, "But seriously, Chase, you knock my standards out of the water, you exceed at exceeding my expectations every time you do something."

"I always thought that-"

"What?"

"Never mind."

Mr Davenport sighed, "_Chase_."

"I always thought that you were disappointed with me, I mean I'm no hustle or muscle."

"No, you're Chase, and not to pick favourites or anything- oh who am I kidding? - you're my favourite," Chase looked up.

"….But, you're always so harsh on me…."

"Because I know you can do better. I always thought that, when I look at you three, you're the one most like me- so, _so_ smart. Maybe not as handsome, but who could beat this face? I guess what I'm saying is I'm harsher on you, because when this is all over I want you to take over Davenport Industries."

That was probably the moment when all of those boring board meetings made sense.

"_Me?" _Mr Davenport nodded at Chase's nonplussed face, watching his youngest process the information before, "Me!"

Chase had a moment of giddiness before reigning in his emotions, "Are you sure you want me in charge after my…bumpy…presentation?"

Donald sighed before directing his son into a hug. Chase also exceeded his expectations by clinging back.

"Oh my Chasey-Wasey-Masey-Casey," Donald murmured into his son's hair before kissing the top of his head, "If you're ever going to take any advice from me, take this: stop being so hard on yourself, you may be a genius but you're still human- well bionic- you know what I mean. I'd be worried if you did everything 'perfectly'," his voice went funny at the 'perfectly', "What is that anyway? Perfectly. Jeez, if I worried every time I made a mistake I'd never be where I am now. True story."

They stood there for a moment longer.

"Why are you being so….fatherly?"

"Because you're letting me."

There was a small silence until the two pulled away, both obviously not used to such open displays of affection. They both shook their arms instantaneously to shake off any remaining feelings.

"Now what is this thing between you and Rose?" Donald finally asked in a sly tone.

Chase didn't miss a beat before countering, "What's that thing between you and Leo?"

"What? Me and Le- Chase we went to a soccer game."

"You've never taken me to a soccer game….."

Mr Davenport pulled a face, "Because you don't like sport, I take you to conferences and obscure bookshops so you can get books with foreign titles."

"You promised to help me with my science project beforehand," Chase murmured. Obviously the 'feelings shake' didn't work.

"You never need my help though, you know exactly what you're doing- and if you're using that, they you promised you'd do it with me and not my Mother in Law."

"I only did it with Grandma Rose because you broke your end of the deal and ran off with Leo to watch sweaty men kick a ball from one side of the field to the other."

"Oh, so that's how you're going to play it," Donald laughed, not noticing that Eddy had decided that the father-son moment was over and the lift was moving again.

The doors of the lift opened to the two laughing, Mr Davenport playfully swiping at Chase's head as they stepped out of the lift, both talking in what sounded like a foreign language."

"Eurgh, I hate it when they get all geeky," Adam moaned, "It makes my head hurt."

Bree shushed him.

"Oh great, now they're telling pi jokes!" Leo joined in, "I can't believe I wanted to spend so much time with a guy who tries to make maths funny."

Leo then looked at the bin where he had regurgitated the fruit bran Grandma Dooley had practically force fed him, "Over my grandma, sheesh, Chase can have them both!"

Chase picked that up and looked over at Leo with a smile and a mock bow.

Bree grinned. She had tried to stay out of the possible World War 3 Leo and Chase had been circling since they met- and so for the past week she had been laying very low. But at least now it seemed like her brothers were set to get along again. As long as they stayed off of each other's toes.

A minute later the doorbell rang, Leo jumped up and opened it to see a middle aged man holding a three year old.

"Lee-O" she screamed happily.

"Hey Felicity," Leo grinned, as he gently fist-bumped her outstretched hand, "what's up?"

She made an almost unintelligible garbling noise, which must have been some language because Chase understood it in the background and started laughing.

"Hi Leo," the man said, pulling Leo into a one armed hug, "you ready?"

"Yeah- BYE MUM, I'M LEAVING NOW!"

With that he walked out of the door to go spend the day with his dad and half sister. Chase could keep Donald, because Leo had a real dad too.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Did you like the conclusion? **

**Oh and I know that Mr D was all like 'I don't want to get close to them, I'm sending them away' blah blah blah, but this chapter is set at a far later time, where he's already accepted his family aren't going anywhere ;)  
**

**Thanks SO MUCH for reading and reviewing and faving and following and everything, you're all just so RADIANTLY MAGNIFICENT! **

**Catch ya tomorrow? Bye!**


	13. Dripping Noise (Poor Chasey)

**Hi!**

**Sorry, I was totally planning on posting something else and then I ended up getting writers block halfway through it and decided to post one the 'stock' stories I had typed up before I started publishing chapters.**

**So, anyways...THANK YOU for all of the reviews, you FANTASTIC, STUNNING beings :) Seriously I had a mini happy freak out again. It was awesome. Seriously, this is just...WOW. INCREDIBLE!**

**I don't own Lab Rats**

* * *

**WARNING: I don't know, I make mention of events that might upset people (I just pulled them out of brain [made them up] but they might have happened or remind you of something, I don't know)...Yeah.  
**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

When Adam, Bree and Chase were younger, it wouldn't be too uncommon for them to hassle Eddie into messaging him to come down to the lab for whatever reason. Now that they're older and can leave the lab whenever they want, having Adam, Bree and Chase in his room was a possibility that hadn't ever occurred to Donald Davenport- until his three bionic children stomped into his room at 3:45am on a Wednesday.

Tasha almost screamed when she saw three ominous silhouettes in the doorway, but when Donald turned the light on, she immediately sat up and let a look of concern flood her sleepy features.

"What is it? What happened?" Mr Davenport questioned as he rubbed a hand down his face in an attempt to wipe away his tiredness.

"Uhhh…..Bree, I think he's talking to you," Adam stage whispered to his sister beside him.

She rolled her eyes, "Chase keeps waking us up."

"It's not my fault," his youngest argued, and Donald noticed the way Chase was pushed in front as if he had been forced into coming up to their room and blocked from leaving.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Tasha ignored Chase's defence to try and find the root of the problem, seemingly untroubled by the three bionic teens that woke her up on the morning of a major news story she'd been handpicked to present.

"It's nothing," he tried, rubbing the back off his head and avoiding eye contact.

"He keeps getting up. Do you know how hard it is to sleep when all you hear i-,"

"Wait!" Adam interrupted, Bree stopped to allow Adam time to prepare the exaggerated noises beside her, before continuing with her brother adding in the appropriate sound effects before quickly preparing himself to make the exaggerated sound effects he was sure Bree would need, "creeeakkk then stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, ding, peace and quiet, then ding, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, creeakkk? Then repeat."

"Chase?"

The youngest bionic shuffled before, "there's this dripping noise somewhere in the house and I can't find it anywhere- I can't sleep when all I can hear is a constant drip."

"Aww, baby, why don't we go downstairs and have a nice cup of tea?" Tasha murmured as she made to get out of bed.

"As long as he stays away so we can get some sleep."

"Yeah, 'cuz we have school tomorrow!" Adam added, "…Actually, Chase can sleep in the lab again, we don't mind!"

"What are you talking about? I want sleep!" Bree whispered back in a harsh and obviously cranky tone.

"Shhh, I'm trying to get us out of school."

"Okay," Mr Davenport finally cut in, waving his hands in the air in a stopping motion, "Nobody is missing school, you two go back to sleep- Chase, I'll talk to Eddie and see where this noise is coming from, okay?"

Everyone nodded, "Tasha, you stay in bed too, there's no need to get up and make tea. Try and go back to sleep."

"How can I sleep when Chase can't?" Tasha replied incredulously, lightly hitting Mr Davenport on the arm to emphasise her views on his idea, "I'm staying up until this is all sorted."

Donald didn't have the time to argue, he just turned to the clock on his side of the bed and tapped at it until Eddie's face appeared. There he had a quiet conversation with his home security system.

"Why don't you come sit down, I'm sure it won't take very long," Tasha murmured soothingly to Chase, who was awkwardly standing in the doorway without his brother and sister. He was staring at his feet, obviously not knowing where to look in such a foreign environment.

"No, that's okay, I don't want to…." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his head again nervously, before switching to lean more dominantly on one leg.

"That's bad posture, Chase, stand straight or sit down," Mr Davenport ordered distractedly, without looking up from the glowing screen in his hands.

"Yeah, that's bad posture, Chasey- Wasey!" Eddie tutted mockingly using an old childhood nickname.

Tasha patted the bed, as Chase awkwardly walked over and perched himself at the end of it. He rubbed his eyes, then froze, like he'd been locked in position.

There was a moment when the only noises were breathing, stifled yawns, electronic humming and the quiet whispers of Eddie and Mr D.

"Honey, move over," Tasha said finally, gently pushing her husband slightly so he could robotically and thoughtlessly shuffle closer to the edge of the bed, "Now come on up," she directed Chase.

"No thank you Mrs Davenport, I'm good down here," came the quick reply.

"Nonsense, you look as stiff as a statue, come on, it'll only be for a minute."

Chase bowed his head and smiled slightly before crawling up the king sized bed and sitting in the space created between Tasha and his dad. Tasha then helped Chase pull the blankets over his legs and tucked him in.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Head on the pillow," she instructed, beaming down at the brunette when he listened to her without question or hesitation.

After a few minutes Mr Davenport placed the clock back down on the table and the image of Eddie disappeared.

"Eddie say's there's a hole in one of the water pipes, I'll fix it in the morning, for now you can take these headphones down to the lab to use," Mr Davenport said as he reached for a set of earmuffs in the second draw of his bedside table.

But when he looked down to the end of the bed, where Chase had last been, there was no bionic teen.

"Too late," Tasha whispered.

Donald looked over to his wife and saw his youngest fast asleep in between him and his wife.

"When did that happen?"

"Just before."

"Why?"

"Because we all need a bit of sleep, hit the light, would you?" Tasha drawled as she lay back down.

"Don't you think he's a little old to sleep here?"

Tasha had her eyes closed, but gave a small hum, "If it gets him to sleep, not at all."

"Do I have a say?"

"Do you want to wake him up?"

"No."

"Then there's your answer."

"…..Leo doesn't…?"

"No. No, he grew out of it a long time ago."

"Good -just checking- but good," he received another hum in reply.

Finally Donald Davenport sighed before dumping the earmuffs, switching off the light and lying back down again, turning on his side to give more space to the additional person in his bed. Silently, he was thinking back to all those times when Chase was younger and he used to curl up in one of the lab chairs with his little genius to help him fall asleep. He'd always been the one who needed the most attention, that extra TLC- nurturing: coddling. Donald remembered thinking that Bree would have been the worst, but by the time his third came along, Bree behaviour seemed to be more like an emotionally detached angel, especially compared to her baby brother.

Chase had always been whining and cuddling, moaning and grabbing, just so needy. (Which wasn't that bad, considering it helped make Donald feel more important when he had those sudden moments where it felt like his bionic children didn't need him anymore.) Chase had always been the best at instantly boosting his self-importance. But he'd grown out of needing things, like help falling asleep a long time ago- at least he stopped asking for it after Adam had made a joke about it when Chase was ten. Maybe this was….. No, Chase wouldn't do that, then again he might also be too proud to ask…

"Okay. What did he bribe you with?"

"An extra 14 terabytes and a date with Bree's mobile."

"And all those times getting up to look for the 'dripping'?"

"Pacing outside your door Daddy-o."

"He could have just asked," Donald mumbled to Eddie, keeping his eyes closed.

"Aww, our wittle Chasey-Wasey? Never."

Donald sighed before wrapping a protective arm around his sleeping son, opening an eye to take in his slightly smirking features. Chase, the bloody little trickster, was a Davenport- no question about it. Which is just another reason to why Chase has always been his secret favourite.

* * *

In the morning Donald walked down into the kitchen to see Bree happily eating a slice of toast, while Adam practically inhaled several pudding cups. Since when did Adam start liking pudding?

"So, I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and guess that you were in on last night?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bree looked across at him incredulously.

"Yep," Adam grinned at the same time.

"Adam!"

"Why?" Donald ignored Bree as she hit Adam on the shoulder.

"His mental database plays up sometimes and leaks into his dreams, the last thing one really wants is to be thinking about maths equations and have it change into a serial murder spree. So we decided, since we didn't want to deal with him, to send him up to you. Because that always worked before. Then he didn't go…..so we made him."

"I thought last night was those kids getting trapped in the school during a fire," Adam questioned Bree, "They died, right?"

"Yeah that was last night- and yeah they did- but I was just giving an example."

"You could have sai-" but Bree had the amazing ability to silence people with a single look.

Donald wasn't sure how he should take that, his youngest was experiencing a glitch, his children and home security system seemed to have no qualms with deceiving him, but, at least Adam and Bree seemed to care about Chase enough to take him to them.

"I'll look into it."

"Good, because he is so annoying 'I just saw a mine collapse, there are people running out of oxygen, let's run off and find it- even though technically they're all already dead- but let's go!' And we get zero sleep," Bree complained.

Maybe not. At least they care about their sleep, which leads them to taking care of Chase…..sort of. Well at least Donald was given a project to work on, fixing Chase's mental database.

"So," Adam asked, between pudding cups as he and Bree tried to look nonchalant, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Davenport smiled, watching as the two bionics before him let their shoulders sag slightly in relief.

They did care, they just would never admit it. But then again, isn't that one of the joys of being an older sibling?

* * *

**Hey, I hope you liked it! I was thinking that Chase's mental database thing worked a bit like google, and it got me thinking about everything that happens and how when you're asleep you don't really have much of a say about what you dream about (unless you're having a lucid dream, but anyways) so I thought- 'hey, what if when he's asleep his mental database goes into his dreams and plays around with them?' and then this was born- sorta. **

**What did you think? So next I have a mission fic or a sick fic, either way I'm going to make it sibling centric (because I don't have much bionics fluff in here as of late) which would you prefer?**

**Anyways, you're all WONDROUS, GLORIOUS and RADIANT people whom I love so very much (in the platonic- I know you via the internet way.)**

**thank you for all of the reviewing, faving and everything it's all just...AHH, INCREDIBLE! It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy, which is an amazing feeling I don't think I ever really felt until I started doing this...so THANK YOU!**

**Catch ya tomorrow? :)**


	14. You're A Terrible Big Brother (Ouch)

**Hi everyone,**

**I am so so so so so so (times INFINITY) sorry for not updating yesterday. I just got waylaid with everything (and had a maths exam this morning which I needed to write a cheat sheet for/ summary sheet for [pretty sure I failed it though...but oh well]**

**Anyways, to make up this is my longest chapter yet (over 5000 words) so I hope you enjoy!**

**THANK YOU so much to everyone who reviewed, 144? I almost died! WOW, that is just UNBELIEVABLE! Seriously, AMAZING, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You BEAUTIFUL, MARVELOUS, FANTASTICAL SUPERSTARS, you!**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats (this is a combo between hurt on a mission and Chase getting sick of Adam teasing/ criticizing him) as suggested by Guest (well they said Chase gets mad at Adam, and I took it this way), Lindy, Unknown, and anyone else who I'm leaving off (sorry, it's 1 am here [I'm a slight insomniac sometimes...by inspiration comes at night] THANK YOU SO MUCH, I HOPE YOU LIKE YOUR IDEA BABIES! And the warm fluffy feelings I'm sending your way ;) **

* * *

**WARNING: This chapter is a bit graphic (Chase gets shot, but I left out a lot of stuff) and yeah. Oh and I don't really have much medical (or technological knowledge) so I went as far as google could take me and then improvised! :) **

**Enjoy! **

**Oh it starts off after he's been shot, to before he's been shot, to around the same time as the first little bit, to after all of that...if that makes sense...)**

* * *

Life's hard sometimes. Really, really hard. Which is funny, because life isn't hard at all, but living it can be, if we make it so. So to rephrase, Chase was making his life very hard right now.

He was hurt, and bleeding, possibly dying, with nobody around to help. He also had a major assignment due in tomorrow, which he hadn't even started yet and probably would never start. His brother hated him, he could remember practically feel the blatant contempt lying stagnant in the air surrounding Adam, feel it radiating through every pore of his body. Chase wished it wasn't true, but then again- it was okay- because logically speaking, he'd hate himself too.

Bree had tried, which should have been the main thing, but she frustrated him so much that he quickly and effectively pushed her away. That was fairly easy, almost too easy actually, Chase would have spent more time worried about how swiftly his sister gave up on him if he wasn't so focused on breathing properly.

_In. Out. In. Out. In. Out._

_Where was Davenport, wasn't he supposed to be looking after you? What about Tasha and Leo, they care, right? They should notice you're missing._

_In. Out. In. Out. In. Out._

He could faintly hear shouting in the distance, piercing screams slicing through the cool night air. That could be them, but he couldn't tell. It was too late anyways.

Chase supposed that it was nice he got to die outside, he could see the stars from here- space- it was breathtaking, simply spectacular. He could just stare at if forever, and he could, because in that moment time was infinite. And so was he.

* * *

"Chase, hurry up, we're going to be late!" Bree screeched, for the first time actually worried about arriving at school on time because her 'tortured artist' boyfriend wanted to immortalize her in a painting.

"Yeah, I know you have tiny little girl legs, but come on!" Adam added, the teasing tone keeping his voice light.

Chase came out of the elevator and ran out the front door, Bree impatiently holding it open for him while Adam and Leo were already halfway down the driveway.

"Thanks Bree," he quickly thanked his sister before jogging to catch up to Leo and Adam.

"Took you long enough," Leo quipped when he caught up, falling into pace beside the two other males.

* * *

They were only halfway to school by the time Adam and Chase were in one of their 'bionic bro arguments'.

"You're an idiot. I mean everyone is entitled to be a little stupid sometimes, but you seriously abuse that privilege," Chase stated in a sour tone, retorting to some equally brash sentence spat at him by his older brother.

"Do you hear that, Chase?" Adam said, clutching his brother's shoulders from behind, pausing for a moment before, "That's the sound of me not caring."

"That was terrible," Chase retorted, "seriously, that's the best you can do. I can't believe I have to share a house with someone with such an unoriginal mind and minute brain capacity."

"Well, your face is ugly, but you don't hear me saying anything," his tone was serious, flat and low.

Chase just groaned, exhaled and gave his older brother an 'I'm not even going to bother' look.  
Adam took it as a victory.

Chase spent the rest of the trip trying to work out whether Adam had seriously called him ugly or whether he was just retorting. Sometimes he could never tell.

* * *

"Hey Chase, pass me the remote," Adam made grabby motions at the remote by his feet. Chase was, needless to say, on the other side of the room. Trying to focus on the computer script Mr Davenport had left his to decode. It was stressful, really stressful.

"Chase, remote. Remote me. Chase. FREDRICK!"

"Huh?"

"I knew you were listening! Now pass me the remote."

"Can't you just pick it up yourself?" he muttered, not slowing his frantic typing.

Adam groaned, but made no effort to pick it up.

"Can't you just stop being so….you?" His older brother moaned in response as he tried to get more comfortable on the couch. Chase paused, spinning around on his stool at the kitchen island.

"…..What?"

"You know what I mean," Adam drawled, stretching out like a cat, "annoying, bossy, thinking your better than everyone else, short, lady like, weak, little, know-it all….you know, you."

Chase let out a breathy laugh, "Wow Adam."

Adam looked up at his brother came across and swiftly picked up the remote, removed its batteries and slammed it down into his brother's chest. Okay then, maybe he should have been more specific, remote_ with_ batteries, and hand- not throw. Little brothers, so hard to train.

Visibly shaking with anger, Chase crossed his arms over his chest, what gave Adam the right to decide when to be so cruel? He was trying to be nice and reasonable, since when was that grounds from his older brother to attack him. Well, actually, recently anything was grounds enough with Adam and Bree.

"Ow." Adam complained, before noticing his little brothers annoyed expression, "oh, is wittle Chasey upset dat Adee told him da twoooth."

Why did Adam always have to start these things, how come everything Chase did that didn't meet his standards gave his older brother an excuse to ridicule him? It was unfair, and it needed to stop. It wasn't a joke anymore.

"You know what, _Adee, _I really don't care what you think. I may be short, but I'm still growin-"

"Sure you are," he scoffed with a supressed grin.

"I may be 'bossy' and 'annoying', 'opinionated' and not up to your standards of 'manliness'- but I can change. I can start lifting weights or learn to keep my opinions to myself. But you, Adam Davenport, will always, _always_ be a mean, dumb," he paused for a moment, considering what could hit hard, "terrible big brother."

This made Adam stop the slight chuckle he had developed as an undertone to his brothers rant, his expression literally did a 180 from a clear smirk to a confused frown.

"What did you just say?" His voice came out steely, cold. The entire mood in the room had shifted.

Chase swallowed the lump in his throat, "You heard me. I'm sick of this. You think just by being there when I'm crying will make up for all of the times when you push me around or try and belittle me."

Adam may not have understood some of those words, but he got the gist, "really, you think I'm the bad brother here? It was a joke, Chase, but clearly yours wasn't."

Why did Chase always bottle up his stupid feelings until the last minute, then turn it around like it's his fault he didn't realise he upset him?

Chase held his ground when his brother stood up, "Don't try to play it off like you didn't mean it. Maybe the first few times, yeah it could have been a casual joke, but there's a little truth behind every joke told, and Adam, you've told those 'just jokes' so many times that they're all truth now."

'_Or maybe you never told me how much you hated it, I would have stopped if you told me. Why don't you ever tell me anything?'_

"I can't believe you called me a terrible brother. After all of those stupid nights I've stayed up with you crying about some wimpy little drea-"

"That was when my mental database leaks into my dreams!"

"All those times I made you feel better after a bad grade, stopped jerks from attacking you or protected you in a battle-"

"I don't need protection from you, don't you get that!?"

"You think you can honestly say I'm the bad brother right now?"

"Yeah, I do. I take care of both you and Bree, I put up with you throwing me around the room and help you solve the countless messes you get yourself caught up in. I take the rap for over half of your mistakes. You take everything as a joke, and let me tell you this slowly, so you can understand…Life. Is. Not. A. Joke."

"….Whatever."

With that, Adam stormed passed him and into the lift.

* * *

"You okay?" Bree knocked on the doorframe of one of the empty spare rooms.

Chase grunted into his hands, but didn't look up from the floorboards.

"You know….you really hurt Adam's feelings."

"He hurt mine first," Chase countered.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to, can't you just-"

"I'm not apologising!" He barely contained the yell, "why am I always the one who has to fix things up with Adam? Why can't he every do it? It's always me. I'm the youngest, he's the oldest, he should know better."

Bree kept her tone level, as she slowly crept over and knelt before her brother, "we both know he doesn't, though, we need to help him."

Chase looked his sister dead in the eye, "I won't."

Bree bit her lip. Finally she sighed and gave her brother a half hug, "do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Why bother, you've already listened to Adam's side, you've already made up your mind."

"No I haven't," she countered, "try me."

"Everyone just always says these terrible things to me, okay, I get it. I'm not big and strong, I'm not fast or likable. I'm smart and I know it, that's me. But everyone always thinks that it's okay to pick on me, even if I'm not doing anything wrong and I just….."

"Snapped?"

"Yeah."

"You called Adam a terrible brother."

"It's true though."

Bree gave Chase a half smile, even though she knew he wasn't looking at her, "no it's not, you know it's not."

Chase shrugged, but he didn't take his comment back.

"You know how you pride yourself on being smart?" there was a slight nod, "Well Adam prides himself on us. He doesn't have smarts, he has strength, which he likes using to protect us, keep us safe."

"Good job he's doing," Chase muttered sarcastically.

"Just think of what it would be like to be told that you weren't smart."

"But I am smart, I'm the smartest person alive."

"Okay, bad example, but for arguments sake, let's say that you weren't so….sure…..of yourself."

"Well, you and Adam ridicule my bionics all the time…."

"No we don't," Bree argued.

"Yes you do, 'oh Chase, why can't you be interesting?', 'you're such a know-it-all', 'stop ruining things, can't we just watch a movie without all of the boring facts?', 'all you are is a calculator, a dictionary'," he mocked in a high pitched voice.

Bree had no comment, so she tried a different approach, "So you see how upset that all made you, so you see why it would be best if you apologised to Adam, right?"

"I'm not doing it. Go away."

"_Excuse_ me?"

"Run back to Adam, I know that's why you're here. Go tell him that I'm not apologizing."

"Did you ever consider that maybe I'm here because I care about you?"

"Please Bree, the only things you care about are your phone, your boyfriend and yourself. Go."

"I'm trying to help you her-"

"Can't you see I don't want your help!?" Chase finally bellowed, "Go away!"

And so she did, she stood up rather swiftly and left the room.

* * *

"Chase?"

"Go away, Bree."

"_Fine."_

* * *

Adam was downstairs with Leo, they were playing some video game that neither really knew the rules for- but were making up as they went along.

"No, the green lights are bad!" Leo cried out when Adam went to get his character to press one of the buttons on the wall. They weren't actually, but Leo decided that the red 'blow up' buttons were a lot cooler, even if they decreased your health by 20%.

"The floor's lava!" Adam laughed.

"We're outside…" he almost questioned, noting the forest setting for the game.

"Not that floor, this floor," and with that Adam had jumped up and was standing on the couch.

"Okay then," and so Leo joined him.

"What are you doing?" It was Bree, coming down the stairs with her hand on her hip, one eyebrow raised.

"Nothin'." Both males said simultaneously as they slowly lowered themselves back down into a sitting position.

"So I talked to Chase," Bree declared as she perched herself on one end of the couch.

"Is he okay?" Adam asked, not taking his eyes off of the game.

"Yeah. I think he just gave himself bit of a fright," she bit her lip.

"Huh?" Leo questioned, still having no idea what happened between Chase and Adam.

"How'd you know?"

Bree sighed, "He got all defensive and went all closed off when I tried to speak to him. He's literally just sitting there."

"How does that mean that he scared himself?" Leo questioned, still not getting anything.

"Not scared, frightened- surprised. I think the whole thing was just about as unexpected for him as it was for you, Adam."

"Hmmm," Adam hummed, taking a sip of his cordial like it was fuelling his suddenly deep philosophical questions he was posing to the Universe.

At least that was Bree's interpretation, really, the cordial just tasted funny.

* * *

It was a day later, 23. 2 hours to be precise. Chase was yet to talk to Adam, he tried during dinner, but couldn't bring himself to open his mouth for anything but food. During breakfast that morning he had tried, but Adam had barely glanced at him on his way in, stole a couple of pieces of Bree's toast and left.

"Ad-hm-ah-gah," he tried, he really did. He didn't want to apologise, but he hated last night, Chase felt like an intruder in 'his own' lab. He wanted to try.  
All his older brother did was turn around, raise a single eyebrow and continue to walk out of the room.

* * *

School was the same. They had sat together, but they didn't talk. Adam chatted amicably with Bree and Leo, Chase tried sitting with them, but ended up moving to find Drew in the photography classes dark room.

He'd never felt of his brother as an imposing figure, but he'd never looked so big and intimidating before. A silent, emotionally detached Adam became the pinnacle of the most scary thing in the world.

* * *

Now Donald had just appeared with a new portrait of himself under his arm, subtly shoving it under everyone's noses until they complimented it's…..uniqueness, originality or use of the colour pink.

"Yeah, I think it's practically a masterpiece, but then again, anything with this face would be," he chuckled, indicating his grinning face.

Everyone gave awkward little laughs, but nobody commented.

Suddenly, in the middle of an 'I'm awesome' rant, Mr Davenport's phone went off. After reading the screen he looked up grimly, "Mission time, boys and girl."

* * *

They were all in their mission suits, all amalgamated under the same uniform, but they never seemed to look so divided. Bree was keeping her eyes forward, standing in front of both of her brothers, acting like she was standing alone. Adam kept glancing across at his Chase with a tight lip, while the youngest Davenport was looking away from both of his siblings.

All Chase could think about were the hard, almost calculating looks his brother kept shooting him. He hadn't said a word to him since he came downstairs, he refused to make eye contact with him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't look at Chase when he thought nobody would notice.

Donald passed each teen a special emergency backpack that contained almost everything needed in case of an emergency, which they each took silently and left after their mission brief.

Chase could feel someone sliding up behind him, he tensed when someone grabbed the straps of his backpack, but all Adam did was tighten them before moving over to assist Bree with hers. Chase bit his lip, Adam usually did that, tightened straps, secured Carabiners. He'd never really notice him do it, but now that everyone was silent, it was hard to miss anything anyone did.

* * *

The mission was harder than usual, but that might have been due to their lack of communication, all Chase really knew was that right now they were all separated in an enemy compound. Some crazy guy using cross genetics to create his own hybrid army, Mr Davenport had found out by whatever questionably legal means and they were sent.

"So, we've got half an hour to clear out the area before the reactor is set to go off," Chase breathed down the line he had open with Bree and Adam.

"Okay," Bree replied.

"Yep." Adam responded, tersely.

* * *

"_What are you doing?"_ Bree.

"What do you mean?" Adam questioned through is private connection with his sister,

"_I thought you said you were going to work things out with him."_

"I am, I think I am….."

"_What do you mean, 'you think you are'?"_

"You said he was sorry, he doesn't look very sorry to me."

"_He is. He just doesn't know it yet."_

"I don't know, Bree."

"_Just trust me."_

"Okay."

* * *

Sometimes Chase thinks things would be better if he were different. Not the inside of him, he was perfectly happy with how he was in that respect, but maybe the outside of him could use a bit of fixing up. He liked to imagine what it would be like if he were taller, Adam would lose all of his short joke ammunition, what it would be like if he were faster, to be able to outrun the insults thrown at the back of his head like they didn't matter because he didn't show how much they hurt. Because everything just built up. If he were faster he could have outran that shot.

If he were stronger, and looked it, he might be able to hold his own and not immediately attract all of the people who like attacking the ones smaller than them, because 'picking on someone your own size' seems to be a foreign concept in this day and age.

If he were stronger and faster, and smarter, oh boy if he were smarter maybe he wouldn't be dying with his brother hating him.

If things were different, maybe Chase wouldn't remind the crazy gene mixer of his son and wouldn't be on the ground with a bullet in his stomach. His mission suit helped, but it didn't stop the bullet tearing through the fabric, and then flesh. It was better to think about things that could be different than the pain. He estimated he approximately had 15 minutes, he wasn't entirely sure how long he had left, his body had gone into shock and the pain was slowly dissipating as everything in his body began to slow down.

"Chase? We heard a gunshot, do you know what happened?" Bree's voice crackled through his ear.

After a moment of silence her voice was back, "…..Chase, answer me. Where are you?"

Then again, "Come on Chase, we don't have much time until everything blows sky high, answer me. I know you can hear me."

And again, "…_Chase_?"

"Adam, I think there's something wrong with my connection with Chase, he's not responding," this time her concern wasn't directed at him.

"Chase?" It was Adam, then to Bree, "No, I'm not getting an answer either."

"Maybe he can't talk," Bree suggested, "like he's surrounded or something and can't make a sound."

"Chase, if you can't talk, try something else, send us a sign," Adam called down, clear and concise, detached.

Chase tried, he really did, in the end he ended up making some strangled gasping noise down the line to his brother and sister, as blood began to run up his throat.

"_Oh My Go_-"

"What happened?" Adam cut Bree off.

But that was it, before Chase couldn't feel his fingers.

* * *

He lay there for a very long time, gazing up at the sky. The stars were faultless, the moon was grand. All of those galaxies, the proof of how infinite the universe could really be, what he would have given to see what the destination of some of those little lights were.

It was funny that he was purposely not thinking about his family in a moment like this, because that would make him sad, regretful and all he wanted to feel was at peace. He was dying alone, that was the bad part, but at least he was dying with nothing but the large expanse of the heavens before him.

"**You're not alone."**

It was the last comfort he needed.

And so, slowly, he closed his eyes.

* * *

There was some annoying noise stopping him from staying at peace in the darkness. It was rather persistent and constant, so he followed it until he felt some veil being lifted, partially, and his eyes cracked open a fraction.

"Please be okay," It was Adam, he was sitting by the bed he was on, since when was he on a bed?

"I'm so sorry Chasey, just please be okay. You've got to. Please?"

Chase noticed he was clutching at his numb hand, holding it between his two big paws like he was squeezing it over fear of losing it, and cradling it over fear of breaking it.

"If you wake up, I promise I'll try harder, I'll be a better big brother. No more Bionic Brother Toss, no more names, no more short jokes, no insults. I promise."

He moved his eyes around the room, taking in how cold and empty it was.

"I know you probably can't hear me, but if you can- squeeze my hand- Davenport's worried that you might never wake up, but I just know you will. Because…you're Chase….you're going to be fine."

Adam sat, waiting patiently for Chase to move his hand, but he couldn't, his entire body was numb, he couldn't even twitch a finger or open his eyes further than being able to barely see through his lashes. He tried sending Adam a message, via any bionic ability of his that would just work. None would though. So instead he prayed that Adam would look up, but he never did.

"How's he doing?" It was Bree, well he thought so, it sounded like her, but not- where was the life in her voice, the bounce in her step, the snark in her tone?

He could hear her slouch over, brush her fingers against his cheek before turning to sit and clutch his opposite hand. Well he could see her clutch his hand, he just couldn't feel it.

"He was right." Adam moaned miserably.

"No, no he didn't mean that. We both know he didn't mean it," Bree tried, straining her hoarse voice slightly…..why was her voice hoarse?

"I'm a terrible older brother, I should have been there."

"No, this isn't your fault."

"But I wasn't following his plan, that's why he was over there, I didn't go and secure the second sector, so he did. If I just went, he wouldn't be like this."

Why did everyone have to be so blind, couldn't they see that he was okay?

"Adam, Chase wouldn't want you beating yourself up about this…"

Why was Bree talking like he was already dead? Already a 'past tense'?

"Too late," he moaned.

Chase tried to do something, make a sign, but the more he tried, the number he felt. Then he realised it was because of the amount of drugs swimming through his system, and he finally relented into the drug induced sleep Mr Davenport had set him up on.

* * *

He woke up again with someone touching his face, lightly, just enough to annoy him. He tried swatting the hand away, but couldn't move his arms, the message was taking too long to be sent down to his limbs to move.

Instead he just scrunched up his face, trying to move his stiff neck around so he could turn his head away. He wasn't sure how many of his commands actually turned into actions, but as suddenly as he felt it, it was gone.

"Chase? Chasey, can you hear me?" There was a familiar voice there, it sounded excited.

"Squeeze my hand, come on- that's it- good boy," another voice, this one relieved.

"Is he waking up?"

"I think so," there were two more voices.

"Adam? Adam! He's waking up," and suddenly one of the things inhibiting him from moving one of his arms shifted, and he felt another hand in his own.

"_Chasey_?"

Slowly he felt the weight on his eyelids lessen until he could force them open.

* * *

Turns out Bree had been leaning over him, trying to shake Adam awake to get him off of him, as he had fallen asleep half ways on top of his little brother. Chase told her very pointedly, once he could speak, that she needed a haircut. She laughed and swore that she would never cut her hair again.

She barely left his side, practically at his beck and call, like when she was trying to get him to forgive her for insulting him in front of her friends. She made him lots of sandwiches, but then again that seemed to be one of the few things she could make.

Her boyfriend came over to visit, obviously he wasn't told that Chase had been shot, just very ill. He had drawn Chase's portrait and kept amicable conversation with Adam with Bree sitting next to him, watching him draw.

It was nice.

Adam was just as bad as Bree, it had taken him a week to convince him that Chase was already doing a double check on everything, like he always did, so whether Adam had gone to location or not didn't matter. They had had an awkward apology session, where they practically took every bad thing they've ever _even _thought about each other back. Needless to say by the end of the session both brothers wanted to punch each other in the face, really hard. But it was to make amends, and they supposed that it was better to continue on with clear chests.

He was a constant shadow, filling silences and making sure Chase was warm enough….because he was very proud that he knew where the spare blankets were kept.

"Are you okay?" Bree murmured, while they were watching some show on TV. Chase hated it, couldn't find it plausible in any way, shape or form, but everyone needed some mindless television to take away some of the unmentioned stress.

"'M fine, thanks."

"You cold?"

"No, Adam, but tha- I don't need an extra- oh whatever," Chase stood up gingerly, careful of the bandages wrapped securely around his abdomen as Adam wound another blanket around the three other's he'd already given his brother.

"Do you need some homework, you know, make sure your brain is working?" Leo asked hopefully from the dining room table where he was working on some worksheet.

"Nice try Leo, but I'm not doing your homework for you," Chase chuckled, until it aggravated his injures.

"Are you okay?" Bree dropped the sandwich she decided to make him anyway.

"I'm fine."

"Don't worry, I'm already calling Mr D," Adam called back, ignoring his brother as he held his phone up to his ear.

For the injured party in this situation, you'd think they'd be paying attention to what he was actually saying, but he supposed that was just too much to ask. Well, he supposed he should use all of this for his own gain, while his siblings were still working to make sure he was okay.

"Hey Bree, Leo's right-"

"I am?" Leo asked excitedly.

"My brain isn't getting that much work, do you think you could go grab that fun science board game."

"Sure," she didn't even pause, running off to find it.

"Adam? I'm thirsty, do you think you could make me a hot chocolate?"

"I don't know, Mr Davenport said nothing too hard on your stomach, technically you should still be eating out of tubes."

Of course he listens to Mr Davenport now, "But I'm thirsty, and it's hot, so it'll warm me up on the inside," he smiled.

"Okay," Adam finally conceded, making his way over to the kitchen, "any marshmallows?"

"Two please."

He ended up with eight.

Bree came back and set the game up, Chase dug a hand out from underneath the blankets, picked up his cards and placed the spaceship on '1', before leaning back on the couch and getting comfortable.

Adam and Bree joined in, Leo too, saying something about not caring about homework when everyone was having fun without him. He worked out the game was educational pretty fast, but one look from Chase and he decided to stay.

The youngest Davenport took a bite out of his sandwich and a sip out of his cup before rolling the dice. He could get used to this.

"**Manipulation, I'm proud."**

"_Shhh."_

There was a deep chuckle inside his head, before Spike decided to get far away from the 'loser game for losing losers'.

"Oh Chase, your medicine!" Adam suddenly cried, jumping forward, to already having been beaten by Bree, who held it out before her younger brother a second after the oldest Davenport reminded her about it.

"Do I have to?" Chase pleaded, looking up at them with the most pitiful look he could muster.

It seemed to either be ineffective, or, fuel them more, because Bree only laughed and Adam shook his head. Chase looked at the tables and liquid medicine like they were poison, but after a few pointed looks and not-subtle cough, he took them under the watchful eyes of Adam, Bree and Leo.

Bree checked his mouth to make sure he actually took them (that was one time!) before passing him his hot chocolate to wash the foul tastes down with.

"I'm not contaminating a perfectly good cup of hot chocolate!" he gave her an incredulous look.

But Bree raised her eyebrow at him and he quickly took a swig. Adam cheered.

Maybe there was a downside to having everyone willing to do anything for you, they'd do whatever for you, especially if it were for your own good and they had to force you.

(Like that time, it had been one long night, where Chase had wanted to sleep in his capsule but Donald said he wouldn't be able to stand upright for so long. He had gotten Adam, Bree and Tasha to tag team him, and eventually drag him away from his capsule. Chase had gone on strike, until Tasha made him Davenport approved pancakes, Bree had rather gleefully told him it was for his own good and she regretted nothing [she was rather scary with such a wide smile}, Adam had hugged him and Leo wasn't involved. Mr Davenport had told him to grow up and act his age, somehow that made Chase forgive him….he wasn't really sure why or how though…..)

But Chase supposed, he hadn't been insulted, pushed around, forced into any unnecessary work or unrelated schemes. Everything was rather relaxing, if not a little boring…hmm. Interesting. He should look into that.

* * *

**So, what did you think?**

**Okay, so Adam and Chase had that whole thing because Adam never really picked up how stressed and everything Chase was, and so when he said all of those things, they added with all of the other things he had said and so Chase retored. However instead of just complaining he went for a way to hurt Adam, and he did. Then he was too proud/scared to apologise...then Adam was waiting for an apology because Bree said he'd get one but he never really did. WELL until after Chase got shot. Oh and when Chase was with Bree, he saw that she had obviously already picked a side (wasn't sympathizing to his side) so he told her to leave.  
**

**I hope you liked it! I think there's a massive tone change between 'oh my gosh, he's dying' to 'not taking his medicine'...IDK, I liked it :)**

**Oh and if you were wondering, Bree was the first one to speak, Donald was asking Chase to squeeze his hand, Tasha and Leo were wondering if he was waking up and Adam was asleep by his bedside until Bree woke him up and he went 'Chasey'.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR magnificent AND spectacular REVIEWS! (I thought I'd use capitals in the opposite way)**

**Seriously, they really inspire, motivate and make me so happy and smiley, they are amazing :) So thanks (even though I feel like I keep saying thank you...but anyways YOU ALL DESERVE EVERY THANK YOU!)**

**Catch ya tomorrow? Bye!**


	15. Growing Up (Memories)

**Hi everyone!**

**So I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who reviewed. Gosh, they just never cease to make me SMILE and SQUEAL down at my phone in UTTER DELIGHT!**

**WOW. It's just all so incredible :)**

**You're all just...WOW. That INDESCRIBABLY AMAZING!**

**I don't own Lab Rats.**

**Umm...I know I was going to post a sick fic, but I decided that I've been messing around with Chase a bit too much, so this is some fluffy stuff as a sort of in between, before I post the sick fic. **

* * *

**I don't think this one needs a warning, but just in case...you've been warned?  
(I don't know...)  
**

**Anyways this chapter is by no means my best. It was originally just the Davenport part, but it was only a page long so I added to it, however I still like it and thus I am posting it :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"_Okay, kids, line up!" Mr Davenport clapped his hands together, waiting for his three bionics to scurry across from wherever they were hiding._

_Obviously they didn't, but Donald was at least happy that they had to be in the lab somewhere. It would be easier to track them down and place them in a training simulation so he could get a chance to work on his latest invention._

_The dark haired male turned around when he heard a tiny giggle, obviously muffled by two equally tiny hands. Mr Davenport started to slowly walk around the lab, his children's play area and entire world._

"_Oh, so that's how we're going to play, fair enough," he smiled indulgently, sometimes, he decided, it was far more important to let his kids have fun and be, act their age as opposed to always training them to be the heroes he was hoping they'd grow up to be._

_There was another tinkling laugh from the child to his right. Mr Davenport started towards it, but thought better, instead he began to slowly stalk around the lab and look in all the places he knew Adam, Bree and Chase would never hide._

"_Oh no, where could they be?" He faux cried out in despair as he noted the location of another one his children, judging by the shuffling near the barrels. Two hypothetically found, now where was the third?_

_Suddenly there was a slight gust against the back of his legs and Mr Davenport immediately spun around and grabbed the speeding Bree. She smiled and shrieked as he spun her around, dipping her down every so often so she could really have some fun._

"_Well, hello Bee-Bee," He smiled, raising her up until she was eye level and leaning forward to kiss her nose._

"_Icky!" She shook her head, rubbing her hand across her nose, but smiling none the less._

"_And how are you?" Mr Davenport asked, taking her hand and dancing her around the room, to Bree's utter delight- judging by her laughs and squeals of complete contentment. _

_Finally he placed her down inside a small playpen that didn't actually contain any of his three kids if they were so inclined as to escape. But instead of trying to immediately climb back out, all Bree did was smile and look up at him with wide, innocent eyes._

"_I've got two more to find, so sit tight Little Lady and I'll be back momentarily."_

_Chase was closer, but Adam seemed to be more restless, so Donald tiptoed over to where the eldest bionic was hidden. Adam had managed to crawl head-first into a –thankfully- empty barrel, which Mr Davenport pulled off the shelf and placed on the ground so he could easily lift Adam up by his foot._

"_Oh, muscles," Mr Davenport groaned as he hefted Adam up, who was certainly more compact than Bree, if you know what he means._

_Adam was oblivious and had great joy swinging around upside-down until Donald tossed him onto his back. _

"_Hold on tight Adee, we're in for a bumpy ride," he then pretended to 'lose control' of his limbs and speed around the lab, clutching Adam's legs with his hands. He knew he was breaking the 'No Running' rule, but technically this was walking speed for Bree, so…._

_Adam was having the time of his life on his daddy's back, speeding around with his dad making funny 'vroom, vroom' noises._

"_Oh I love you," Mr Davenport proclaimed as he finally came to a stop by the play pen, extracted Adam from his back and placing a kiss on his forehead._

"_Love you too," came the reply as Adam was placed in the pin next to his sister._

"_And now to find that little brother of yours," he exclaimed to the two in the play pin as he moved off to where Chase's little giggles had come from before._

"_Oh, I wonder where our little Chasey-Wasey could be," He crooned in a sing song voice as he neared the bookshelf._

_Donald quickly jumped behind the bookshelf, but only fast enough to see just a glimpse of his youngest bobbing around the corner._

"_Oh no, he's on the move!" He cried out dramatically as he hobbled after his son in the fast-yet-slow run only parents can do when chasing or being chased by their children._

_Chase was surprisingly good at evasion, even when Mr Davenport was trying to grab the child he always managed to wriggle away. Until finally Donald climbed on a bench and walked across it, looking down at his confused child who was wondering how his daddy could be next to him when a table was clearly there. Davenport 1, Bionic super hearing 0._

"_Gotcha!" He cried out as he jumped off the table and scooped his little genius up with one hand._

_Chase started whining, until Mr Davenports nimble fingers had him laughing and shrieking even louder than Bree had on her little dance around the lab. Which Mr Davenport had thought was impossible._

_Donald kept tickling his son until he was 100% sure that he wasn't going to moan anymore, before raising him up and placing the still giggling child on his shoulder, who reached across and slobbered on the top of his head in some form of a kiss._

"_Well hello to you too," Donald laughed as he turned his head and kissed his son's stomach, which of course caused Chase to start laughing again._

"_Da'ee," Chase clapped. Usually Mr Davenport didn't encourage his kid's to call him 'Dad' or 'Daddy' but Chase seemed a bit too young for 'Mr Davenport' yet. Or maybe it was because he secretly loved it whenever his kids called him their father, and he'd already trained Bree and Adam out of it. Or verbally at least, Donald knew that they all thought of him as their father._

_Mr Davenport started walking the two of them over to the play pen, which his son seemed happy about until he worked out what was about what the play pen meant._

"_No, no, no, no, Da'ee, no!" He screamed, grabbing on to his father's head and used his socked feet to attempt to climb even further up the man._

"_Wow, hey there Little Buddy, calm down," he tried as he pulled his son's fingers from his hair._

_This made Chase scream even more, "No! Stay, stay, DADDY!"_

_He let his instincts take over and began rocking his youngest, taking him down to rest his head on his chest until he calmed down and was soothed by the gentle rocks, sweet nothings in his ear and light hair stroking._

"_Hey, I'm not going anywhere, daddy's not going anywhere!" Mr Davenport tried, bringing the tiny hands he was clutching up to his lips to kiss. "Daddy just needs to do a bit of work and needs you to stay with your brother and sister while I'm busy, okay?"_

"_No!"_

_Why were the youngest ones always the most difficult? _

"_Daddy has a really important invention to finish, so he needs you out of his way so he can finish it and make some money," Donald attempted to explain in the nicest way possible._

_Chase sniffed before mumbling something. Mr D removed his head from his chest so he could repeat._

"_Uh, uh."_

"_No?"_

"_Na."_

_The two stayed in the same position for a while, it was hard, if it were Bree or Adam he would have just left them, but Chase would cry- which will cause the other two to cry and then he'd have three crying children and no work done._

"_Fine then," Davenport sighed, "Maybe if Chasey-Wasey doesn't want to sit with his brother and sister he can help daddy with his work."_

_And so Donald ended up muttering a 'just this once' as he placed Chase on his work bench, where he sat and watched Mr D silently as he begin working on a freeze-ray. _

Then the next time when he was making a hover board, and the time after that, then the time after that. And every time after that and even now where Mr Davenport was just finishing up a memory machine with Chase passing him tools while simultaneously screwing on the back covering. Mr Davenport secretly smiled as he watched the memory of that day play over on the screen- so that's where it all began. He looks over the top of the screen to the oblivious Chase.

"Mr Davenport?" His youngest wonders, looking up.

"Hmm? Oh nothing," Chase gives him another sideways look, "Just thinking about all the money this is going to make," he grins. It worked, and Chase turns away, even though part of him hoped it wouldn't and maybe it would end up with him explaining that day to Chase and how thankful he was he decided to have a little fun for once.

* * *

Bree found Mr Davenport's invention after lunch, he'd left it out on the table and it was just too intriguing to ignore. She wasn't 100% sure what exactly it did, but the 'do not touch' sign made it near irresistible.

She fiddled around with the switches on it for a little bit, but when it didn't suddenly start lighting up or, well, doing anything she turned away.

"Come on Bee-Bee, no fair!" Bree immediately spun back around and looked at the screen, suddenly there was a little Adam- he would have been around ten or so, and he was stomping his foot and pouting.

Curious, Bree stepped closer to get a better look at the screen, allowing a smile to stretch out across her face as she figured out what was happening.

* * *

"_Come on Bee-Bee, no fair!" Adam moaned as she kept dashing in and out of his reach, waving his food cup tauntingly. Mr Davenport had decided to give them their food pellets in plastic cups while he was working on upgrading their capsules._

"_That's what you get for stealing my dolly!" She retorted, taking a pellet out and raising it to her lips._

"_No. Don't do that!" He cried out, putting his hands over his mouth in horror._

_Chase took that moment to come across, thumb in his mouth as he stared wide eyed at his noisy elder siblings._

"_Chasey, Mr Davenport told you not to do that!" Bree turned around and began reprimanding him, hand on her hip and eyebrow raised….Chase could tell that in a few years she would have perfected that look down to a fine art, "You're too old for that now."_

_Chase looked down, dejectedly, but removed his thumb from his mouth. In the time that Bree had been telling off her little brother, Adam had managed to grab his food and swallow it all down in one big mouthful._

"_Go Chasey," Adam grinned, running across and scooping his brother up, "you…uh…."_

"_Distracted?" The youngest Davenport supplied._

"_Yeah, you disstacked Bee-Bee while Adee got his food, I knew I kept you around for something," he smiled down at his little brother, before gently placing him back down on the ground._

"_I didn't, but anyways," Chase murmured once he was safely on solid ground._

"_No fair!" Bree complained, crossing her arms, "I want my dolly!"_

_Bree had decided sometime last week that she regretting abandoning her 'Dolly Jemima' all those years ago and had been trying to find her ever since. Somewhere along the line, she convinced herself that her older brother had something to do with her dolls disappearance, and she was a desperate girl, willing to do anything to get her baby back safe and sound._

"_Aren't you a little old for dollies?" Chase questioned, attempting to raise his own eyebrow up at his nine year old sister. It didn't really work, but she got the main idea._

"_Aren't you too old to be sucking your thumb?" She retorted, effectively shutting her little brother up, who began muttering excuses under his breath._

_Bree stormed up to Adam and began pushing at him, which was all rather ineffective considering her strongest push could barely be felt by him as he stood firmly in his spot._

"_Give me back Jemima!"_

"_I don't have her!"_

_This continued on for five minutes._

"_Alright kiddies, since I'm so nice, I'm going to give you a warning- SHUT UP OR I TURN THE LIGHTS OFF!"_

"_Oh no, it's that creepy computer again!" Bree cried out in the dramatic way only nine year old girls could._

"_That's right, now close your yaps, I'm trying to forget about your existence- but your annoying voices are making it too hard," Eddie groaned. He was still fairly young, only in two places, the lab and inside Donald's watch. But there are only so many times one can look at the inside of a sleeve before it gets old._

"_Why don't you just go away? Meanie!" Adam called back across._

_Eddie really wished he could, but Donald had designed him to work as a type of baby monitor for the little terrors- so he technically couldn't, considering it was written in his coding to keep an eye on them. At least Donald had promised him that he might one day work as a home security system, and not just a lab watch/ baby minding system. It was highly unlikely, but a pixilated emoticon could dream._

"_Oh," Chase suddenly cried out, "Didn't you give it to Mr Davenport last year, saying you 'didn't want or need a doll now'?" _

"_What's the little one on about?" Eddie questioned, slowly, regretfully._

_Bree opened her, closed it, the opened it again before she sheepishly stepped back from banging on Adam._

"_I-I-I gave Dolly Jemima away….." Then Bree started crying._

"_Bee-Bee, don't cry!" Chase tried, wanting to run over and comfort her, but her loud shrieks were too much for his newly acquired super hearing- so he could only stand so close._

_Adam of course pulled her into his chest, patting her head like a dog, in an attempt to comfort her, "there there, Bee-Bee, you don't need to leak out of your eyes no more. Adee will fix this."_

_Adam turned to look up at the funny smiley face on the wall, "You there, get Mr D for us!"_

"_Only if you give me his full name," you could practically hear the smirk in his voice, everybody knew that Adam had difficulties saying 'Davenport', it seemed to be too hard for him to swallow._

"_Get Mr Da-Dape-ven-p-or', Dav-en-port, Davenport for us now," Adam grinned triumphantly, third time's the charm._

_Eddie moaned, but switched back across to Donald's wrist watch and informed him that the little rats in the lab wanted him._

_In the meantime Chase had picked up the tissue box and a marker, drawing a rough face on it before wrapping it up in a face washer from the bathroom and bringing it back proudly, holding it out as close to his sobbing sister as his ears would permit him._

"_Bee-Bee, here!" He offered her the impromptu doll, "Until Mr Davenport gets Dolly Jemima back."_

_Bree slowed her sobs and slowly came over, cautiously taking the tissue box and cradling it in her arms. Adam smiled, coming across to look down at the tissue box over his sister's shoulder._

"_He looks like a Felix," he murmured._

"_Eww, No! Felix is a boy's name, can't you tell, she's a girl- duh," Bree responded, taking her eyes off the box to look up at her brother like he had grown two heads._

_The two continued to bicker about what gender the doll was. Chase tried to see where they were coming from, all he had done was create an appropriate substitute for Bree's fake doll, and they were treating it like the tissue box was actually a baby with a definitive gender._

_It must be something he'd understand when he was older, so Chase just stuck his thumb back in his mouth and wandered over to Mr Davenport, who had just rushed into the lab after being told that his kids had called him._

_Donald wordlessly picked Chase up and carried him over to where his siblings were still arguing._

"_Uh, you called?" Donald asked, unsurely._

_Bree turned to look up at the only adult she'd ever met in person, he'd know the answer._

"_Is this a boy or a girl?" She held the tissue box up to him._

"…_.It's a tissue box."_

"_Nuh uh!" Both Bree and Adam cried out in unison._

"_You see the tissue box too, right Chasey?" Donald murmured in his youngest child's ear. Chase nodded._

_The two wordlessly decided to back away from the still arguing siblings._

* * *

Bree laughed down at the screen, remembering the time well. She'd never seen that doll again, Jemima, not the tissue box- even after they finished with the tissues in it, Bree had hidden it away in one of the empty filing drawers in the lab... For sentimental purposes, of course.

* * *

Chase stumbled upon the on switch by accident, really. Sure he had helped Mr Davenport build it, but that didn't mean he was interested in what it actually did. But he found the on switch and after accidentally turning it on, fiddled around with the dials to get rid of the annoyingly bright flashing lights on the screen.

They disappeared, causing the youngest Davenport to sigh in relief, however that was only moments before the video started…..a video Chase could have sworn actually happened.

* * *

_Chase was not amused. Adam and Bree were making an absolute mess in the corner, while all he wanted to do was finish his book._

"_Hey, Chasey, whatcha reading?"_

_Chase sighed, pausing in his readings, "please Adam, we've talked about this, don't call me that."_

"_Sorry Chasey- errmm- Chase."_

"_Thank you."_

"…_So, whatcha reading?" Adam persisted, not picking up that his brother just wanted to read in peace._

"_War and Peace. You wouldn't understand. Too complicated to explain. I'm fine. Go back to your weird ball throwing game with Bree," Chase pre-empted all of his older brother's questions and answered them before he was asked, to save time._

'What are you reading, what's it about, can't you just give me a rough idea, are you okay, do you want to do anything?'

_Adam swallowed his unanswered questions and turned around to continue on with his game, but Bree had already moved on to ogling pictures of the Eiffel Tower and French boys. Bree had started taking a recent interest in the opposite gender, it made training awkward when she started wondering if the enemy was 'cute' under their masks or not._

_Adam turned back around to Chase, who was still reading. _

"_Do you want to come rock climbing with me?" Adam asked, hopefully._

"_No. What I really want to do is finish this book," Chase replied as he turned the page and quickly started scanning the next._

_Adam looked fairly lost, he hated it when his siblings decided to do things that he couldn't get involved in, like reading books or staring and commenting on pictures of guys and landmarks._

"_How about 'Imagine'? He tried again._

_Imagine was a game they had evented ages ago, basically all they did was say something they thought was outside. It usually started with 'Mr Davenport', 'Paris', 'school', then it went one step further, 'purple trees', 'monkeys with their drivers licences' and such. Usually they went off of each other's words, but it wasn't a rule. It was fun because everything they said couldn't technically be proven wrong, so sometimes they said really outrageous things that were 'theoretically impossible' according the thirteen year old Chase._

"_Reading," Came the sing song reply._

_Adam sighed at turned away, making his way over to the exercise wheel to at least do something while he waited for Mr Davenport to come back from wherever he randomly disappeared off to._

_Chase sighed, looking up as his older brother gloomily shuffled over to the exercise wheel, he marked his page before closing the book over._

"_The moon."_

_Adam spun around, grinning, "the sky."_

"_Rainbows," Bree contributed, always up for a game if both of her brothers were involved, which was something that seemed to be occurring times far and few in-between._

"_Pot of gold," Chase attempted an Irish accent (or at least what he thought an Irish accent sounded like after his brief encounter with a cassette player and audio books._

"_Little green men."_

"_Oh My Gosh, flying cars!" Bree began laughing as the three bionics thought of the improbability of anything being able to fly through the sky. They could barely get their heads around birds, though after Chase had consulted Mr Davenport's Biology book, he found it more probable than the others._

_The three continued on with their list. This was one of the rare moments when all three of them were involved in something together that wasn't training. Slowly they moved closer to each other, until they were all sitting by each other on the lab floor, laughing along and contributing with their own crazy ideas of what the world outside could actually be like.  
_

_It was nice, sometimes, to just be._

* * *

Chase allowed a small smile to grace his features before he turned the machine off, about a minute into the video he worked out what the machine was. Why Mr Davenport had made it was beyond him, but he found it a nice change from strictly mission based weaponry and inventions that messed with space and time.

The memory was a nice reminder as well, that maybe he needed to find his siblings and invite them to play a quick game of 'Imagine', in fact he already knew that Adam was outside with Leo, so he quickly went off to find them. Perhaps they could teach Leo the rules, even though the game would now be slightly different, considering they now knew what outside was actually like.

* * *

Adam was the last bionic to find the box, he oddly knew exactly what it was and immediately flipped it on with uncontrollable excitement. He placed in the perfect time, the moment he wanted to remember forever, and was elated when the screens static suddenly turned into what he wanted.

* * *

_Adam was standing outside with Leo, they were taking turns flying a remote control helicopter around. Well, until Adam squeezed the controller a bit too tightly and it shattered in his hands, causing the helicopter to fall from an impressive height._

_The two obviously high fived over how awesome that impact was. They also silently agreed to never mention to Chase what happened to his helicopter, if they left it outside they'd be okay- Chase rarely went outside for recreational activities, he was more of the 'sit inside reading type'._

_The two wandered inside, chatting amicably._

"_Dude, that was awesome," Leo gushed, in a manly way of course._

"_I know right! I wish we could see it again…..but the helicopter's broken and we don't have another," he sighed, forlornly._

"_You do realise that Mr Davenport had two helicopters made….right?" Leo asked._

"_Really? But, anyways, what does that have to do with- ohhhh," he suddenly realised._

"_You go down to the lab and get it out of Mr Davenport's draw, I'll stand guard….by the fridge..." Leo decided, shooing Adam off as he reached into the fridge and sifted through its contents for the tastiest thing to eat._

"_Okay," Adam grinned happily, running down into the lab._

_However, instead of grabbing the helicopter out of Mr Davenport's drawer, he saw his memory machine and decided to fiddle around with the knobs, immediately recognising what it was and wanting to relive the past half an hour._

* * *

Adam finally got bored of watching himself watch his memory back, so he turned the machine off (by banging it until the screen went black, obviously).

He walked across to the drawer and took out the second helicopter that Donald had made in case anyone- cough, himself, cough- decided they wanted to have a go while Chase was using his.

"ADAM!" Suddenly Chase's voice screeched out from somewhere upstairs, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY HELICOPTER!?"

Since when did Chase go outside? Actually, since when did he actually care about the stupid thing? He'd never even used it before…..Actually the last one was probably just Adam coming up with an excuse as he noticed he'd accidently crushed the helicopter down by accident when startled by Chase's (girly) shriek.

"Nothing," Adam called back, slowly crushing the other evidence down into dust and quickly struck a 'natural' pose for when Chase stormed in.

"ADAM -what on earth are you doing?" Chase stopped to look at his brother lying across the lab bench, fist under his chin as if he were contemplating something.

"Thinking about life and space and pi, the maths pi, not the yummy one," he added as an afterthought, hoping that all of the name drops would distract his brother.

"Oh...Wait, so you heard about the new star that scientists worked out was exactly 3.14 hundred light years away? It's so funny that it's pi's distance away, I mean-" Chase continued to blabber on about stars and numbers while Adam snuck around him and ran towards the lift.

When Chase got into a topic of interest, he rarely noticed what was going on around him- like his brother running out of the lab to hide out for when his little brother realised that he was after Adam to demand answers about his broken helicopter….and that Adam didn't even know what the Earth revolved around, so there was no way he'd know about other stars or what pi even was.

Oh well, that was his problem. By the time Chase finished, Adam would already be on a Ferry to Jakarta under the name Francis Dowlair.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Which 'stage' did you like the best? (I was trying to show contrast between them all...Davenport taking care of them (being all loving and child like), arguing with Eddie and missing a doll (still child like, yet not as much), growing up (but still having a moment of sibling bonding), Adam hanging out with Leo (I felt like I should include everyone)...I.e. toddlers, kids, tweens (and teens) and present).**

**Oh, I sort of just pulled Francis Dowlair off the top of my head, so sorry if it's actually the name of someone...unintentional!  
The Memory Machine was totally from 'Meet the Robinsons'...so I take no credit for that. Awesome movie and interesting book (even though it's picture book about a kid visiting his friends house and seeing his 'weird' family (Gosh, what even is weird? Who defines what weird is?) So not really like the movie...**

**Umm...The planet thing was totally made up (just in case one of you decides to google it...I'll save you the trouble...even though that would be SERIOUSLY AWESOME if it was true!)**

******I'm also aware that the memories get shorter as the chapter goes on...There was a reason...BUT, I can't really remember exactly why...it might have had SOMETHING to do with length or what they were actually about or something.**

**Anyways, thank you for reviewing, faving, reading, etc. you're all GRAND, PHENOMENAL, INCREDIBLE BEINGS!**

**Catch ya...not tomorrow (because I have a sleep over party I'm going to) but the day after? **

**Bye for now!**


	16. Being Sick Is Utterly Dreadful

**Hi everyone!**

**So here is the sick fic that was suggested by daphrose and guest, and the 'Chase taking care of people/ counterbalance part' suggested by Unknown. I feel like I'm definietly forgetting people, but I literally re-read my reviews twice (it brought back memories, made me feel more connected to you guys and quietly SQUEAL [because it's like 2am here and I don't want to wake anyone up]). THANK YOU SO MUCH! You're all awesome (if I forgot you add your name and take some of the virtual love) I found this chapter oddly easy to wrote (until the end) which was nice :)**

**THANK YOU to all of you AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS beings who reviewed, seriously I screamed...which is like my squeal..._but LOUDER!_****(Which I didn't think was possible, thanks for proving me wrong in the best kind of way :D )**

**Seriously, FANTASTIC- is what you all are. WOW, I literally can't think of what to type (I'm that speechless :O )**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats. I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**

* * *

Being sick was utterly dreadful. No, seriously, it was practically incorrigible- the very stuff of Chase's nightmares. He was withheld from school, placed under house arrest and subjected to such heinous acts as being forced into taking his medication and having temperature checks….let us also not forget about all of the fussing.

It was almost like being injured, but at least then his family treated him as if he still had a sliver of dignity intact. When he was sick he might as well be speaking a foreign language, nobody even pretended to listen to him, they all had their own 'better' ideas on what to do. Which generally involved him lying under a varying number of blankets with a rotating cast of different stuffed animals and inane television programs that he wouldn't condemn on a five year old, let alone himself.

There was also his families warped sense of needing to constantly be there, like as soon as he was sick logic went out the window and they found it a better idea to constantly wake him up to ask him if he was 'okay', then let him sleep. Because apparently sleep wasn't an integral part of the healing process.

Or making him weird broths. Okay, he wasn't _that_ hungry but he wouldn't object to perhaps the pizza from the night before that he'd missed out on because Tasha was worried it would upset his stomach (he had a head cold, there was nothing wrong with his stomach, thank you very much).

It was all so infuriating.

* * *

"Chasey, how you feeling bud?" Adam of course was by his side as soon as he came back from school, shaking Chase awake from the rather peaceful slumber he'd been partaking in.

"M'sleeping, go away."

There was a cold hand slapped onto his forehead a second later, before Adam made a humming noise and let his freezing hand drop away. So maybe, for arguments sake, Chase could say that he rather enjoyed the cool touch, it was a rather nice contrast to the heat radiating out of his head. But that didn't mean he liked people entering his personal space to hit him rather roughly across the face to 'check his temperature', because that was just annoying.

"He's a little hot," Adam murmured to whom Chase assumed was Bree, he being too tired to open his eyes and confirm his assumption.

"Does he need more soup? I know how to make the chicken one!" his sister's rather loud, dulcet tones reverberated around inside his skull as she skipped off to make more soup.

Honestly, at this point in time, Chase was both thinking of refusing the soup he could hear his sister begin to prepare and also never touch the horrid stuff again. That was how much he despised the stuff right now.

"Here we go, Chasey, a nice big bowl of steaming soup," she sung a few minutes later- cutting into the blissful silence he hoped wouldn't be interrupted again.

"Do we get him to sit up?" Adam hadn't left yet? Chase was sure he had….maybe not.

There was a noise of affirmation from Bree, then the next second Chase felt himself being roughly yanked upwards by two large hands, before being placed upright on the couch.

The youngest Davenport blearily opened his eyes to see both of his siblings standing before him. _Joy_.

"Do we feed it to him?" Bree whispered to Adam, as if her younger brother had magically become deaf the moment his constant snot balls were brought to everyone's attention, and, it was determined that Chase was sick.

Adam tilted his head to the side, staring down at him, as if analysing and calculating. Okay, now Chase knew he was really sick, Adam never looked so thoughtful and smart.

"Dunno. Do you think he can?" The oldest bionic finally questioned.

"I can feed myself, you know," Chase muttered, knowing it was no use as his siblings decided that 'no, he couldn't' and began to practically force feed him lukewarm soup. Bree lied when she said it steaming.

He tried not to get too embarrassed when they refused to let him hold the spoon, feeding him like a baby, wiping his face when Adam had a turn and completely missed his mouth, making train noises and inferring that his mouth was some tunnel for it to go into.

He'd learnt yesterday that there was no getting out of it, especially after having Tasha taking to talking to him like he was three and trying to get her to stop trying to kiss him on the nose. It was weird, quite frankly, Chase was a little disturbed.

At least Mr Davenport wasn't so bad, he'd mainly just offered him soup, given him a couple of his tablets and…..banned him from technology and heavy reading. It made no real sense though, considering he then proceeded to sit Chase down in front of the television and turn on some free-to-air kids' station with annoying singing.

Leo was the best, however he kept lurking in the background trying to catch Chase glitching. For whatever reason, his step-brother had immediately developed an interest in seeing a spout of uncontrollable molecular kinesis or a sonic sneezing session. Chase had been slightly worried at first, but after he realised that Leo was  
a. only there to observe.  
b. not trying to get him to eat any more soup.

Chase was happy to let him be giggling in the background, like an overexcited kid waiting for the fireworks.

"There we go," Bree finally smiled, putting the soup down, "does that make you feel better?"

"No. It makes me feel violated."

"That's good," was she even listening to him? Oh right, never mind. He was sick, after all.

* * *

Chase was not happy. He had been trying to peacefully blow his nose, relieve the amount of potential snot for the next cannon, if you caught his drift. But of course Tasha had to have developed some form of bionic hearing as she practically ran into the lab, a place she tried to avoid at all costs, and began harassing him to ask if he was 'okay'.

"'M just blowin' my nose," he attempted, but Tasha would have none of it.

"DONALD!"

"Why are you calling Mr Davenport? I'm literally just blowing my no-"

"Yes?" Donald burst into the lab, cutting his youngest off.

"I'm worried about Chase, he's been blowing his nose all day, I think there may be a problem with the mucus build up in his nose."

"This is the first time I've blown my nose all day," he tried, to be ignored.

"Really, I might have to take a look- Chase move the tissue," Donald turned to his son, "Wait, what are you doing down here, shouldn't you be on the couch?"

"You never told me to stay on the cou-"

"Yeah, his nose is really blocked up," Mr Davenport nodded, yanking Chase's tissued hand away from his nose.

Firstly, EWWW. How did being sick possibly give people the chance to comment on his snot and secondly:

"Of course I have a mucus build up, I've got a freaking cold!"

"Calm down Young Man," Donald reprimanded him, before turning to his wife, "he's obviously overtired, we should get him back up to the couch."

Finally they were talking about him and sleep!

"Maybe I can find a way to stabilise the amount of mucu-"

Chase blocked Mr Davenport out, he honestly did not want to think about the snot up his nose, let alone have other people comment on it so casually. I mean, sure he could create an invention, but alternatively he could also just give him a box of tissues, throat lozenges and a nice quiet place to sleep for the next few days.

"We could make him some more soup?" Tasha added, almost like a question.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Donald smiled.

"Urrghh," Chase moaned out at the exact same time as his father-figure.

Soup does not equate to good health. Why couldn't someone, especially someone who called themselves a genius, figure that out?

* * *

Chase was currently hiding in the bathroom. It was a two days after the whole 'mucus stabiliser' fiasco, which ended up with Donald finally conceding that tissues were best. He was leaning against the bath, looking at the door, like he was expecting someone to bust in at any moment- regardless of the lock.

He was currently holding his stolen mobile (it was a worry that he had to literally steal his own mobile back) up to his ear with a laughing Drew on the other end of the line. Good old dependable Drew loved finding comfort and happiness in another's misfortune.

"They're completely crazy, Adam tried to read me a bedtime story before. Me. He can barely read at a fourth grade level and he was trying to piece together The Little Mermaid for me," Chase continued down the line. "Firstly, he knows I don't like the little mermaid, and then secondly, he didn't even get the story right! He added a robot apocalypse."

"Don't you mean 'zombie apocalypse'?"

"No, robots came and began to kill off the human race, or enslave them."

Drew laughed again.

"It's not funny, they keep feeding me soup and talking to me like I'm a little kid, I swear Bree was cooing at me before. All I was doing was blowing my nose and she started acting like I'd actually done something of note."

"One time my brother got sick."

"Yeah?"

"Oh no, I didn't care, I played Xbox. I was just saying…"

"Oh."

"Maybe this is all there backwards way of showing they care? Misguided as it may be, they do sound like they're trying."

"I guess….but why can't they just leave me alone?"

"Don't worry, get better and they'll act like you don't exist again."

"That's….reassuring."

"I try. Eat a lozenge, you sound like you've swallowed sandpaper," there was silence down the end of the line. That was Drew's parting comment.

"Bye Drew," Chase didn't bother waiting for an answer before handing up, he knew his friend had already grown disinterested with the phone and thrown it away.

Chase sighed, turning his head to the side to rest his cheek against the outside of the bath, which was remarkably cool to his aching head. Chase coughed a little, sniffed and finally stood.

The mirror showed him a messy haired, red nosed and bleary eyed boy- the brunette sighed, wet his face with some cool water and then unlocked the door. Cautiously he made his way downstairs, picking up the blanket he had dumped on the group by the door and throwing it around his shoulders as he shuffled towards the staircase.

Bree was on her phone, something Chase hadn't seen her on since he got sick, while Adam was trying to see how many marshmallows he could fit in his mouth with simultaneously hiding the packet from Tasha. She was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and dancing along to some old song that didn't even sound like it was popular in its time, so Adam didn't have that hard a job.

When he began to descend the stairs all three of them looked up at him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bree questioned, immediately slipping her phone into her back pocket and she jumped up to meet Chase at the bottom step and 'aid' him to the couch (holding onto him like she was leading him).

"'M kay," Chase sniffled, before a sonic sneeze went off and covered the entire coffee table, "….Sorry."

"Oh dear," was Tasha's first reaction, before she turned off the radio beside her and came over. She paused at the table, but ultimately stuck her hand on Chase's forehead, "Oh!"

She sounded surprised.

"What?" Chase asked, worried.

"What?" Bree and Adam drowned out their little brother, in both volume and level on concern.

"It seems as if your temperature is finally going down, it should probably be gone by the morning," Tasha finally directed at Chase.

"But he's still sneezing snot cannons," Adam countered, sounding slightly confused.

"Yes, but this seems to be the final home stretch- who knows, if you keep improving you may be up for school on Thursday," she smiled, "and you get all of the homework that you missed."

Chase almost felt like groaning, sure he generally loved his school work, but he'd become so used to just lying about on the couch doing nothing but try to sleep.

"He's better?" Adam asked, "Finally!"

Then he got up and left, just walked away. Chase tried not to feel hurt, so he turned to Bree who'd already grabbed her phone back out and was texting again. It was so sudden, like a switch had been turned and they were back to ignoring him. He turned his head to see if he could spy Leo, but he too had disappeared.

"Mum?" Tasha looked up from the kitchen bench, where she had already continued her vegetable cutting.

"Yes, sweetie?" Sure she gave Chase permission to call her 'mum', and it made her feel rather happy, but he never just did it without cause…or around others.

"Can you please make me some soup?"

"Sure," she replied, "just give me a second to finish cutti-"

But Chase had already turned away as if she had just proven something. She didn't know what though, besides the fact that these vegetables needed to get in the oven ASAP if they wanted to have dinner at a decent time.

She didn't think that before her little 'revelation' that she would have dropped everything to make soup for Chase. She would never admit to it, never say that she specifically pandered to one of her children's needs more when they were sick than when they were recovering.

But he was still sick, it didn't make sense, his head still ached, his throat was sore and his nose was a tap for snot. He didn't want to have one of those cliché change of hearts last minute when he realised that he liked it when everyone went out of their way to treat him nicely and make him as comfortable as possible. But by gosh he was.

* * *

After dinner, which was burnt and led to everyone (par Chase, who wanted to stay home) going out for their evening meals, the Davenport-Dooley clan walked home to find Chase lying on the couch with a blanket pulled up over his head.

"Chase?" Leo questioned, coming to perch on one of the arms of the couch.

"Mrrphh," came the drained reply.

Bree and Adam immediately came across too, Bree sliding her phone away and Adam losing his goofy grin, where they stood by the cocooned form of their little brother.

"Are you okay?"

What even was 'okay'? Why did everyone keep asking him if he was 'okay'? He was sick, maybe not so much now- but still. Obviously he wasn't okay.

"My head hurts," he mumbled miserably, sticking his head out of the blankets to reveal runny nose and flushed face. It was true, his head did hurt- but that may not have been exactly why he decided to create such a dramatic scene for his family to walk into.

"Aww," Bree murmured sympathetically, sitting down beside his head and lifting it onto her lap, where she began to stroke his hair (something he hated her doing before).

Adam went to find another blanket, Leo began gleefully looking around for traces of any bionic glitches (okay, they were interesting, so what?) and Tasha turned on the stove to warm up a quick chicken broth.

Donald stood in the doorway, "You're still sick? And here we were thinking you were getting better," he clucked, while Bree and Adam nodded hastily, "oh well, I was going to take you into work tomorrow, as a sort of transition back from your week at home, but I guess you'll just have to stay in the spare bedroom."

"Spare bedroom?" Chase questioned.

"Yeah, I can't just leave you out here, you need to stay bed ridden, and the best way to do that is to keep you up in the spare room so you can fully recover."

"You never know…I could always be better by the morning," Chase complained, not wanting to be stuck in a bed all day when he could at Davenport Industries with his dad.

"Eh. But do we really want to risk it?"

"So you'd leave me here by myself?" Came the gruff, yet hopeful reply. However to be fair, it did sound like Chase's throat was fairly scratched up.

"Of course not," Chase relaxed slightly, before Donald added, "Eddie'll be here."

Chase huffed, but made no more comment.

Donald had recognised the slight coy smile on his son's face, like he'd said before- Chase was certainly a Davenport. Well played, Chasey, well played. However playing up sicknesses was not something he tried to promote, and Donald was a veteran in Davenport manipulation, so 1 to Donald, 0 to Chase.

* * *

The next day Chase was still legitimately sick, which Donald could plainly see- so after a long winded sigh, he told Chase to pack a bag and took him along to work. He wasn't about to leave his sick bionic child, prone to glitches on the best of days, home alone with a head cold.

Bree, Adam and Tasha continued to hover around Chase until it annoyed him too much and he practically willed himself to get better. However, for a week after, where there were still a few remaining symptoms, Bree and Adam were rather vigilant when it came to those. However right after they dissipated they were back to ignoring and teasing- which was fine for Chase, after having an extra week of attention.

* * *

Well, everything was back to normal until Bree and Adam contracted Chase's head cold after spending so much time with him at close proximity.

Chase made a very effective nurse maid, where he lacked in nurturing, he made up in overall diligence and organisation. He was very good at running backwards and forwards with requested items, however he happily turned down every food preference and gleefully fed his blanket wrapped siblings soup.

"Here you go, Adam," Chase cooed down at his brother, a condescending smirk written across his face as he spoon fed him a bit more soup.

"When I'm better I'm going to kill you," Adam promised.

Chase responded by ignoring the comment, slapping his hand on his brothers forehead and calling over to Tasha, "I think his temperature is increasing, perhaps it's time for a bit of medicine to bring it back down again?"

"I hate you."

"Maybe the liquid form, I don't think he's up for tablets," Chase clucked.

"That will be a lot of spoonfuls," Tasha warned, passing across a bottle that had foul tasting medicine written all over it."

"As long as Adam gets better," Chase grinned across as he began to undo the bottle lid.

"Oh, who cares," Adam finally cried, "I can take you now!" And Adam attempted to tackle his brother, but Chase swiftly evaded his brother's clumsy grab and pushing him back onto the couch, firmly yet gently.

The youngest Davenport's response was to pass the medicine over to Leo, re-wrap the blankets around his brother, so that he'd stay nice and snug, and go off to see how Bree was doing in the spare bedroom. Because Adam complained to much, which aggravated her migraine.

"**Tsk, tsk, Chasey-Boy, and here I thought, since they were doing everything out of the kindness of their hearts, so would you. But you're enjoying this, so, why you gotta be so mean?"**

_"I am actually taking care of them, besides I'm not being mean to them, I'm just showing them what I went through."_

"**Uh huh."**

_"What?"_

**"Nothin', just that you're acting out of spite, while they were acting out of...you know..._love_," **Spike spat out the word like he couldn't wait to get it off of his tongue.

_"You always act out of spite, though."_

Spike hummed, but other than that, remained silent. He was annoying like that, appearing when he wasn't invited then leaving in the middle of a conversation.

Chase sighed, turned back around and stuck his head into the fridge, where he grabbed out an icy-pole and gave it to his pouting brother- who immediately perked up. He then switched the channel to a sports station and left Adam to watch something besides Tilly and Frieda finding Princess Lucy's tiara before the ball (which Chase swore they had been doing every time that show came on.) on the kids channel.

He then tiptoed upstairs and stuck his head into the guest bedroom, where, needless to say, Bree was sleeping. Chase decided, however, that he wasn't cruel enough to wake her, so he let her sleep on. See? He was a good brother.

He took care of both of his siblings for the remaining week, which involved reading comic books to Adam (who knew he liked them), buying magazines for Bree and pretty much getting or doing anything for them that wouldn't either hurt them or himself in the future.

Afterwards they obviously put everything behind them, well sort of, even though they didn't really change outwardly- they all grew closer some how. Which was always a good thing, right?

* * *

**So, what did you think? Good, bad, too long, too short etc. ?  
What do you guys think about a couple of chapters with Chase taking care of others (or having a section in the chapter for it)?  
**

**Oh I stuck Drew back in because I needed a friend for him to vent to. I also had a reference to two other chapters (one of them not really, but I still...)**

**I also put Spike in, because sometimes when he's not doing...whatever it is he does, I just imagine him having random conversations with Chase and working a bit like his moral compass (without meaning to or realising it)...I feel like I was supposed to mention something else too...but it's 2:18am now so...I'm going to bed. G'night!**

**Anyways, thanks again for all of you who reviewed, seriously, I just can't...WOW. You're all ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE :) 161? OMG!  
While reading through my reviews to see who suggested a 'sickfic' it was like I'd never read them before, or saw them in a different light because SERIOUSLY I found them all so WONDERFUL! I literally had a grin on my face the entire time. You guys are all so open and sharing and lovely and just...AHH, AMAZING!**

**Thanks for reading, see ya tomorrow?**

**Bye :)**

**Oh and to all of those who read the last A/N, my sleep over was awesome! **


	17. Sure, I'll Teach You (Oww)

**Hi everyone!**

**Wow, today seems to have gone so fast and once again I'm posting another chapter :)**

**Thank you all SO SO much for reviewing and faving and following etc. It's all so REMARKABLY LOVELY!**

**Seriously, your reviews always make me SMILE and look CRAZY, because my mum wonders why I'm always laughing, squealing and grinning Cheshire Cat style down at my phone.**

**Anyways, this chapter was suggested AGES AGO (sorry about that) by HowtoRiseBigTime- thank you so much! You incredible GENIUS, you :)**

**This may not be the way that I originally planned to write this...but at the end of the day (literally it's 11:59pm) I'm happy with it.**

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**I don't own Lab Rats.  
**

**WARNING: Character oocness and falling off of bikes...it'll make sense, trust me ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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Davenport stood before a four wheeled contraption his children were insistent on learning how to control. The entire experience was rather stressful for him, considering at any moment something could go wrong and there was a possibility of blood.

"Okay, come forward, that's it- SLOWLY!" He all but shrieked when Bree decided to speed up faster than she could handle just yet, "slowly," he repeated, in a calmer voice when she immediately made to brake, "that's it."

Adam was putting around in the corner, riding like it was second nature, all he had needed was a helmet and a push off. It just came naturally to him, which worked to reassure Donald slightly, knowing one of his kids were safe

He turned his attention back to Bree, just in time too, "don't panic- that's right- keep your cool. Brake. That's it," he coached her as she sped down the road, seemingly forgetting how the brakes worked, until the last moment that was.

'_Congratulations, Bree, you just look about ten years off my life in six seconds,' _he thought almost bitterly, but the relief washing over him was enough to stop Donald getting mad at his daughter for scaring him so. Besides, she seemed to have done all of the work for him, slowly walking herself back up the hill with a sheepish expression on her paled face.

"Do you need a hand?" He called across.

She waved him off, jumping back on and attempting to push forward again. Wordlessly he went over and grabbed the bike's handlebars, he jogged forward and when it looked like he had enough momentum he let go and pushed his daughter forward and watched as she took off again. One bionic on a bike with two little training wheels keeping her from suddenly tipping sideways.

Leo gave a little cheer from the balcony, bowl of cereal balanced in the railing as he stared down at his morning entertainment. Bionic teens attempting to ride bikes, with training wheels, was way better than cartoon guys flying around with their underwear over their pants.

* * *

Donald came across to Chase, who had taken riding the bike in front of him with a different approach to his elder siblings. He was sitting under a tree, apparatus in front of him as he studied it from every angle, turning to his mental database to double check the calculations he was making.

"You ready to give it a go?" Mr Davenport asked, clapping his hands together when he reached his youngest.

"Not yet," Chase replied, distractedly as he took an extra close look up at the handle bar.

"Come on, Chase, you've been sitting there long enough," Donald proclaimed with a sigh, grabbing the bike and wheeling it out onto the drive way, a little ways away from Bree and Adam. Close enough that he could keep an eye on them and come over if the need arose, but far enough away that Chase had space.

The teenager followed him, noises of objection spilling out of his mouth, but he ultimately pulled on his helmet and came to stand beside the bike regardless.

"Leg over," Donald directed, as he had done Adam and Bree, patting the red seat of the bike.

Chase cautiously climbed on, grabbing on to Donald's shirt when he had difficulty placing his feet on the ground.

"That's okay, that's okay," Donald repeated as he tried to loosen the claw like grip his son had on one of his favourite shirts, "we might just have to lower the seat."

The youngest Davenport was happy to climb back off the bike, he almost jumped off to quickly, having to catch himself from face planting the ground as he tried to get back onto solid ground. It took a moment to readjust the seat, but a tiny bit longer to get Chase back on the bike.

"Now, just lift your feet onto the pedals," Donald held onto Chase as he lifted his feet off the ground, the bike shaking slightly but staying balanced thanks to the training wheels.

"Okay," came Chase's shaky response as he placed his hands on the handles.

"Why are you so nervous?" Donald questioned, feeling his son shake through his polo shirt.

"Do you know how theoretically improbable this all is, balancing perpendicular on a device like this?" he replied, as he straightened his back and readjusted his grip on the handlebars.

Donald chuckled, "not really, if you think about the wheel and how it's designed with grooves to create traction with."

"But the surface area-"

"Is irrelevant," Donald cut in, "here, just…."

He moved a hand to the handle bar and began to slowly walk forward, keeping an eye on the boy on the bike as he kept moving.

"To brake you squeeze these," Donald indicated the brakes.

"Yeah I know, I'm not Adam," came the snarky reply.

"Alright Mister," Mr Davenport smiled after taking his son for a bit of a walk around, "are you ready to ride solo?"

"No!" Came the quick reply as Chase let go of the handles and spun around to grab on to Donald like he was about to walk off. That wasn't the smartest move made my his son, what had gotten into him?

Naturally Donald had to stop and steady the bike, and, grab onto his son to keep him from falling off of said bike.

"Chase! You can't do that, hands on the handles all the time, okay?"

"Sorry, yeah, got it," came the sheepish reply, but Chase seemed rather happy to not be moving anywhere on the bike, so Donald was stuck with a bionic clinging to his shirt and leaving him to support both his weight and the weight of the bike...lovely...just what he wanted in the morning.

"Hey Mr Davenport, LOOK OVER HERE!" Adam shouted across as he managed to speed down the driveway and jump a discarded bag of kneepads.

The oldest Davenport then rode across and did a few circles of his brother and father figure.

"Did you see that?"

"Yes Adam, very nice, remember to be careful though," Davenport smiled indulgently.

"Watch me go jump something else!"

"Can it wait a minute, I'm teaching your brother."

Adam frowned, before his eyes lit up, the rare sighting of an idea forming behind his eyes.

"Hey, Chase, bet you can't beat me to the end of the drive way….oh wait….you can't, can you?" he taunted as he did another circle around his brother, who quickly let go of Mr Davenport and grabbed the handles with a new wave of determination.

Donald made to grab the handles, to stop Chase. He knew what Adam was doing, but this was not the proper way to get someone to ride a bike.

"Chase, don't you da-"

But he had already taken off, managing to work out how to pedal in mere seconds. Chase shot off at an alarming speed, causing Adam to turn and shoot after him. The two continued their race down the driveway.

"Mr Davenport, is that safe?" Bree came across slowly and surely, as she watched her two brothers tear down the road.

"BOYS, GET BACK HERE NOW!" Donald tried, but they seemed to be too consumed with racing and taunting each other.

* * *

"Come on Adam, you can do better than that, can't you?" Chase jeered.

"Duh, I haven't even started, Little Miss Snot Face," Adam retorted as the two sped down the hilly driveway.

"Well you're about to lose to a girl then." He could practically envision the slap Bree would have given him for saying that, before starting a rant about girls being just as good as guys ….oh well, bad wording, but focus on the race, Chase.

"Oh, careful, coming up to the bumps," at first it sounded like a genuine warning, "don't want to break the laws of gravy any more than we already have, right?"

Laws of gravy? Gravity. Wait a second…wrong law, but fundamentally Adam was right. He was riding a bike, this shouldn't be possible, it was theoretically improbable to be able to balance at such an angle.

* * *

Leo had gone back inside to get more cereal, but was quickly drawn back to the window when he heard a two screams.

"Bree?" He immediately recognised one shriek as he ran back out onto the balcony.

He couldn't see anything wrong with her, but she was off of her bike and then gone. She must have supersped over to…..

"Mum?" Leo called over his shoulder, "MUM!'

Tasha ran down the stairs in a bathrobe, "Leo, honey, what's wrong?"

"Where's the first aid kit?"

Tasha came to join Leo out on the balcony, "Oh dear, I told him to keep them separate."

* * *

Chase felt the bike disappear from under him, clattering to the ground somewhere off to the side as he slid down the drive way. There was a shriek in the background, Bree…..what's wrong with her? There was another one too, where was it coming from? Then he realised he was screaming as whatever stimulants in his body faded and allowed the pain to sink in and his body to catch up to the stage his mouth was already up to: hurt and in panic mode.

Ow. There was pain. The wounds on his hands looked artificial, so he must have scraped off his nerve endings- that explains the pain. What else could he see? His hands were shaking, possible shock, and the parts of the driveway that were jagged seemed to have fun tearing into his knees. What to do? He knew this one...umm...get help? Yes! Get help.

"Dad!" he cried out, looking down at his skinned palms.

Donald was over in a minute, Bree was already by his side, pulling his helmet off to get a better look at his face. Chase could also faintly hear Adam off in the background turning around and racing back.

"Are you okay?" was probably the only message he could piece together from the jumble of words thrown at him.

"Ow," he managed, looking down at his hands as the little pinpricks of blood started to converge together and form little pools of red. He wanted to say more, but it seemed to be the only word his brain could get his mouth to formulate.

Donald turned Chase's head away from his hands, which he'd used to break his fall, remembering how seeing an injury generally made it hurt worse.

"Ow," came the pitiful whimper.

"I know," Mr Davenport murmured when Chase made eye contact with him.

"Ow!"

"Is he broken?" Adam asked as he cautiously came over, leaving his bike standing nearby, "is he stuck on repeat or something? Should we hit him? That usually fixes the radio!"

"I think he may be in shock," Donald replied, not taking his eyes off of his youngest.

"Owwwww."

"It's okay," Bree tried, surveying her little brother, who, apart from his hands and knees, seemed void of all injures, "You're okay."

Leo and Tasha ran up from the house. Tasha practically pushing Donald out of the way so she too could survey the injures.

"Scraped knees and skinned hands, nothing too deep, not that much blood. We should be fine," she sighed as she visibly relaxed, suddenly remembering what she was wearing and tightening her bathrobe.

"Da-a-a-d?" Chase dragged out and moaned.

"Yeah Chase?"

"Owwww."

"I know, Chasey, I know. But that's what you get for speeding off down the hill before you're ready, you've got to learn to take things slow."

Chase's response was to start crying.

"Donald!" Tasha cried, hitting her husband on the arm, "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything, don't blame me!" he argued back.

"You were supposed to keep an eye on them, teach them how to ride bikes safely, now look," she clucked, placing her hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow as she nodded at Chase.

"Owwwwwww!" Now he was crying and moaning. Lovely.

"Come on buddy," Adam finally mumbled, noticing that neither Tasha nor Donald were about to do anything, "let's get you inside."

* * *

"_Mr Davenport?" Donald looked up to find all three of his kids standing in front of him, naturally he was immediately suspicious._

"_What did you break?"_

"_We didn't break anything," Bree replied._

"_What did Leo break?"_

"_Leo didn't break anything," Chase took a step forward, "we actually have something to ask you."_

_Oh no, all three bionics standing before him looking so formal and unified. Suddenly every possible thing they could ask him flittered through his mind, most dipping into what Donald hoped the kids would never ask. Like who their real mother was and why they had bionics being two prime examples._

"_We were wondering," Bree drawled, dragging out the sentence._

"_If you could possibly," Chase continued on._

"_Teach us," Adam pipped in happily._

"_How to ride a bike," Bree finished._

_Oh thank Heaven, "You want me to teach you how to ride a bike?"_

"_Isn't that what we just said," Adam whispered to Chase, who didn't dignify him with anything above the eye roll he received._

_Bree nodded, "I've seen kids ride them at school and they look like fun."_

"_Leo can," Adam added, like having his step brother being able to do something gave cause to something._

"_And it's not like you ever taught us," Chase supplied at the end._

'That might have something to do with you guys living in a lab for the majority of your lives.'

"_Uh, sure," Donald smiled, silently happy that they weren't here to ask any difficult questions that would require a web of half-truths to be spun._

_Bree squealed happily, clapping her hands. Adam cheered and Chase nodded, smiling slightly that he got his way. Mr Davenport turned back to his breakfast, waiting silently for his three bionic children to leave. They didn't._

"_Do you mean now?"_

"_Yep, I've already got the bikes outside, purple for me, blue for Adam and pink for Chase," Bree grinned._

"_Hey, why do I get stuck with the pink one?" Chase argued._

"_Where did you manage to get three bikes?" Donald spoke over the top of Chase._

"_I have my ways," was all that was said on the matter._

_Mr Davenport sighed, took a final bite out of his toast, locked his laptop and walked out the front door after his three kids. Before him he saw the bikes Bree had promised, with a sparkly helmet attached to each bike._

"_Okay, firstly," Donald said, trying really hard to ignore his questions about the origins for the bikes, "we need kneepads –I don't want you guys falling off and scraping your knees- and elbow pads. Also, training wheels will need to be added. They should be ready in the afternoon for you."_

"_Or, now…" Bree disappeared in a blur, before appearing on the groups opposite side, wiping her brow and panting, dumping a bag of pads at their feet and throwing a wrench over her head, "Perfect."_

_Donald was impressed, "Okay, who's up first?"_

"_Oh, me, me, ME!" Adam cried, jumping up and down with his hand in the air._

"_I'll wear the helmet, but I'm not wearing these," Chase scowled down at the kneepad he picked up and held away from his body, allowing the look of disgust to cover his face when he noticed varying stains on them._

"_Sorry, had to grab the ones from the sports cupboard at school," Bree supplied as her reasoning._

"_Suit yourself," Donald replied, as he showed Adam how to work the breaks on the blue bike._

* * *

Chase had finally calmed down and was eating an ice-cream, well trying to, it hurt to bend his hands.

Bree and Adam were back outside, Mr Davenport agreeing to take off Adam's training wheels, but telling his daughter that she needed a bit more practice before he was willing to let her ride 'two wheeled'.

After being bandaged up, Chase refused to get back on the bike, he stood by how it wasn't natural for people to be able to ride bikes, so instead he sat with Leo, watching him play a video game and working his way through a tub of vanilla ice-cream.

* * *

It was a week later, Adam had taken to riding his bike, a new black thing with multiple gears, to school every morning. Bree had picked up how to ride, but couldn't get very far once off training wheels, so they had been put back on, much to everyone's amusement. But it was okay because she lost interest in riding fairly quickly.

Chase had tried avoiding bike riding since he had fallen off. Everyone had tried to convince him to jump back on, but nobody was successful. Or so they though. Secretly Chase had taken that stupid pink bike and had slowly been practicing every morning as the sun rose. It was rather relaxing, well it would be if he wasn't terrified about falling off- even though he knew the training wheels were a great ally in keeping his bike upright.

It took him a couple of days to gain the courage to sit back on it, by now he could push himself along by kicking off the ground constantly, or he could attempt to pedal, but that sometimes proved to be a bit much (considering he liked keeping his feet on the ground).

Chase was actually currently bringing his bike out of the shed, even though you would never tell anyone that he considered that pink abomination his own, and was wheeling it out onto the driveway.

"Ready to give it another shot?" Donald almost gave Chase a heart attack, where he called out from the balcony. The youngest bionic assumed, like every morning, he would be alone. But here Mr Davenport was, disappearing and appearing a moment later out the front door.

"I've been practicing."

"I know, I've seen," Mr Davenport smiled as he came to stand beside Chase, who immediately stopped moving the bike, "So, you ready?"

"I suppose."

"Great. Are you willing to listen to me this time?"

Chase nodded sheepishly.

"Put your helmet on and take a seat," Donald commanded, moving to the front of the bike, just in case it decided to roll forward, placing his hands on the front as his son clambered on.

He then proceeded to talk his youngest through everything he knew about bicycles, even the things that were irrelevant, like how much air was inside a bike tire on average or the date of the first Tour De France.

It all seemed to help though, facts and statistics did often work to calm Chase down and keep him relaxed, they were solid and conclusive (usually at least), facts were.

"Now I know you can ride, I saw you when you shot off after Adam, you've got the braking and balance under control, you just need to work on your mindset. Just think, you've faced far worse than the possibility of falling off of a bike," Mr Davenport laughed.

Chase hummed in reply.

"This is what we're going to do, I'm going to stand beside the bike, holding on, and run alongside you. So then, if you do fall, I'll be there to catch you."

"This isn't one of those times when the dad promises to stay with the kid and then they let them go and they can magically ride by themselves, yet lose all trust they have in their parental figure for life, right?"

"No!" yes.

"Okay then…."

The two started running, "and just think, you've got training wheels, it'd be a challenge to actually fall!"

Chase huffed, remembering his first fall, that didn't seem like such a challenge.

Donald slowly began to push Chase faster, until he took a step back and allowed the bike to speed past him.

"I knew it!" Chase screamed back over his shoulder.

"Sorry!" Donald called back, even though it was completely obvious that he wasn't.

* * *

By the time Bree and Adam woke up, they joined Leo out on the balcony, watching Chase ride back and forth down the driveway without any training wheels. Mr Davenport was down there too, off to the side on his phone, but keeping his gaze locked on his cycling child.

"So he learned how to ride," Leo muttered.

"He's better than you," Adam laughed.

"Shut up," was all Bree had to say to stop her brother laughing. She couldn't tell whether it was the tone or the look, but something she did made her older brother freeze, and she was truly thankful for that small mercy.

She noticed Chase look up and wave at them, she waved back, impressed by how comfortable her baby brother looked gliding away.

"Show off," Adam mumbled, as he smiled and waved back through gritted teeth.

"What? He can go one handed, you can jump the bins at school," Leo counted.

Adam shrugged. Chase laughed, which then caused everyone to freeze. Having a little brother with super hearing got really annoying sometimes.

"Stupid bionic hearing," Adam sighed and rolled his eyes.

Chase looked him dead in the eyes and gave him a double thumbs up.

"Darn show off," but it was said with a fond sigh and begrudged smile.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Sorry about the OOCness, I tried to make it minimal, but I think a bit snuck through. Oh well.  
**

**So I had Chase freak out because he was in shock, also he didn't really want to ride the bike because he could think of all of the rules in science that would make riding a bike so hard. Originally he was all up for learning, but when it came to crunch time...not so much. I also figured that in great times of stress he wouldn't care about calling Mr D, 'Mr D' but Dad, because we all know that's what he's thinking ;)**

**Adam was good because I figured someone had to be...Bree was sort of the average between the two at the very start, she was by no means as good as Adam, but at least she was trying (unlike Chase, who sat under a tree trying to bring science and maths into riding a bike).**

**I was ORIGINALLY going to write this as PURE fluff...I'll PROBABLY write that tomorrow...but the next second I looked down and I was writing the perfect set up for someone to get injured and I thought 'Yeah, why not?' [because people CASUALLY decide to injure someone just 'cuz :)]**

**ONCE AGAIN, thank you all so very much, you WONDEROUS, MAGESTICAL, FLAWLESS beings, you :)**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed,**

**Catch ya tomorrow, right? Bye!**


	18. Mission Leader Bree? (I Just Can't)

**Hi everyone!**

**Okay so...clears throat...OMG SERIOUSLY? 174 REVIEWS! One hundred and seventy-four? That is just INSANE! THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!  
Wow. I just can't...I can barely form a coherent sentence I'm that much in SHOCK!Gosh! WOW :D  
**

**So umm...I don't own Lab Rats.**

**This chapter is Bree and Chase bonding, with mentions of Leo, a couple of lines from Adam and a section from Davenport.**

**I hope you enjoy...wow...174...You BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKINGLY EXTRAORDINARY individuals!**

* * *

Bree had had enough. At least Adam was attempting the formation, but Chase- who had been one of the strongest advocates for harder routines- was wallowing around in the background, barely trying. Now when Bree had upset Chase at school and he refused to work with her, she understood, but this was just ridiculous. Just because Davenport, Adam and herself decided to put Bree out for Mission Leader in a few choice scenarios, doesn't mean he needs to start acting like a spoilt brat and throw everything away.

"Come on Chase, this was a team decision, can't you at least try?" Maybe it was because she had secretly always wanted to be mission leader, or perhaps it was because she was worried Mr Davenport would blame the failure on her. Either way she was calling her brother out, something not even he had ever done in all of his self-centred, perfectionist time as mission leader.

Chase's response surprised her (the fact he responded was a surprise in itself), "Really? Because I never took a vote, so either you're wrong or I'm not a part of this team."

It was low, almost catty, when did Chase turn into such a petulant teenage girl?

Just because Bree chose the routine, doesn't mean that he shouldn't at least have the decency to try. Chase always had a say in the formations they practiced, but now since he didn't he's just picking at his nails in the background.

"Did I miss something?" Adam piped in, finally noticing that he was the only one still attempting to get rid of the bad guys.

"No, nothing," Bree responded without looking away from her younger brother, "We're just going to take a five minute break, get all energised then jump back into it."

"Awesome, Chase never gave us breaks!" Adam ecstatically cried out as he ripped off his headset and ran towards the lift.

Mr Davenport was waiting, and almost as soon as the remaining two bionics had their headsets off, he motioned for Chase to come over.

Bree grinned triumphantly, somebody was in trouble. It was time Mr Davenport finally stopped looking at Chase like he was always the cool headed responsible one, even when he made a mistake or acted like a little kid- Donald let it slide. But now he couldn't, now it was effecting the team.

* * *

"Look, this may be hard to believe. Like really hard 'that's impossible' hard to believe," Mr Davenport said after taking Chase away from his sister, "Before, when I wasn't rich, but still very handsome, and charismatic, and smart, and-"

"Yes?"

"Right, anyway, before all of that, when I was working with -actually it doesn't matter who- when I was working with another person in a shared lab, I was in charge."

"And?"

"And nothing, "Davenport smiled, "It was great getting to boss people around."

Chase sighed and made to turn away.

"Okay, okay," Donald finally conceded, "There was a brief period of time when this other person took charge and I remember thinking it was terrible. There was no way I was going to listen to this guy, I was the smartest, and his ideas were all so much worse."

The youngest Davenport looked up.

"And I remember feeling so lost and hurt for a while. Like this position had just been wrenched out from under me."

"How did it happen?"

"Made one wrong calculation, forgot to carry the negative five, and blew up a small island- completely uninhabited by the way. So he stepped up while I tried to work out where I went wrong."

"Great story, but there's a difference between making a mistake than not knowing what you did wrong and having your leadership position given away to your sibling," Chase murmured dejectedly. Donald looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind.

"You're still Mission Leader, Chase, we're just looking at the possibility of your older sister maybe working as a co-mission leader."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Of course not!"

"Then why is Bree suddenly coming out to replace me."

"She's not."

"I don't 'co-lead' with anyone. I don't understand if I didn't do anything wrong, why are you punishing me."

"I'm just looking at all the options for any situation, you're great at analytically thinking things through, Bree is better at handling more….delicate and emotional situations."

"Was I not a good Mission Leader?"

"You were- are- great. Haven't we already covered this?"

"I'm just trying to understand."

"It's just a trial run, give her a chance," Chase's lack of a response was taken as a 'yes' from Mr Davenport who patted Chase on the shoulder as he passed him to start fiddling with a new gadget, "good talk."

Chase sighed before trudging back to where Bree was. He could still hear Adam upstairs singing along to some stupid jingle on the TV Leo wasn't supposed to be watching, but was anyway.

When Adam came back down they continued working on the same formation. It seemed like they'd all moved on, but _somebody_ still wasn't trying.

* * *

It was after a few days of Chase not co-operating when Bree figured out why. Well she didn't exactly figure it out, she was more told.

It was after another unsuccessful formation and Adam had already skipped off (literally), Donald was upstairs watching one of those stupid pig movies with Leo and it was just her and Chase. Well, she was about to leave, when she turned around and noticed Chase still had his headset on, and was sitting cross legged on the lab floor. He just looked so small and sad.

Bree slowly picked up a headset and slid it on, connecting herself back up into the virtual training scenario. The ninja's were frozen, the little girl was crying in her mother's arms and the building with the little boy was caught in like a freeze frame with the fire frozen halfway out of the shattered upstairs window.

Chase was sitting on top of the apartment block's shared mail box area.

"Hey," she called out as she approached her little brother.

He tilted his head fractionally in her direction, but made no other signs that he was aware of her presence. She wanted to yell at him, to tell him to grow up and show her the in control brother she'd come to…tolerate. But she just couldn't, not when he looked so dismally miserable.

"Listen," she sighed, as she jumped up next to her brother, "I guess, umm, I guess I'm sorry for taking your stupid job."

He grunted, like a typical sulky Chase. Why was she even trying again?

"Well, not stupid, but- I didn't know it was such a big deal. I mean jeez, telling someone where to stand isn't that big a job."

"But you wanted it."

"Of course I did, I mean I've always wanted to try it out, there's no way Adam could ever be Mission Leader," she chuckled, "and you have no idea how annoying it is taking orders from your little brother. I'm sorry."

Chase straightened his back, becoming taller and looking more like the snarky male who always ordered her around with a commanding tone.

"No, don't be," his voice was still slightly withdrawn though, as he looked across, "I know when I've been beaten fair and square. You deserve it, I just wish that…."

"You're still Mission Leader, if anything we'd just co-lead."

"In a group of three? I don't think so. There can only ever be one," Bree made to disagree, but Chase stopped her, "What if we get into a disagreement? We'd both have the same level of authority and the only deciding person would be Adam, and he thought it was a good idea to dry the bath duck in the microwave."

"This is still your job. Don't you understand that, I'm not taking anything away from you. This is just a practice, a test."

"It's sort of hard to do a job that nobody really wants you to do, at least not without 'assistance'," he made air quotations around assistance, scoffing slightly, "I'm smart remember? I know where this is heading. Keep it, it's yours."

This surprised Bree, "if you've accepted this….as much as you can. Why aren't you trying, because I know I am, this job is seriously stressful, I thought you'd understand but you're not even trying."

"Yeah. Well."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you."

"Nothing. Is. Wrong. Why is everyone's first reaction to ask me what's wrong? Nothing. Okay?"

Bree smiled, ignoring the words being spat out by her aggravated brother, "I can tell when you're lying, you twitch your nose."

'I do not!" It was fast, a fraction of a fraction of a movement- but it was there- Chase's tell.

"See, just like that," Bree laughed, flicking his nose, "Come on, I'm your sister," She tried.

"No."

"Please?"

Finally Chase at least relented, but didn't divulge anything besides, "….It's embarrassing."

"You saw my school photo, I know embarrassing, it can't be that bad."

There was silence before Chase angled his body towards Bree. He scratched the back of his head, looked up at the pixilated sky before turning back to his sister- yet avoided eye contact.

"The reason I don't do the formation isn't because I don't want to. I'm not trying to be bitter," likely story, Bree refrained from rolling her eyes, "I don't do them, well, because…..I can't. I don't know how."

"What?" the middle bionic was confused, "But you're Chase, Mission Leader, you can do anything."

His voice came out smaller, more tentatively, "No, I can't. I never have and never will be able to do anything. Those boring formations, and I know you hated them because I heard you moan to Adam about them, are all I can really do," he took a deep breath.

"Wha-"

But Chase was on a roll, and he refused to be silenced, "That's why I never took any of your formation suggestions. I liked them but there was no way I could do them, the formations I practice may seem straight forward and tedious, unrealistic and boring, analytic… But they're the only ones I know how to do."

The two sat there in silence for a moment, Chase with a nonplussed look on his face, like he can't believe what he just said.

Bree, however, finally sighed whilst processing all of that new information, before she stood up, "come on."

Chase blanked and just stared at her.

"Come on," she tried again, offering him her hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you through the formation, I'm not leaving here until you know it."

"I'm serious Bree, I can't do it."

But all Bree did was grab his hand and take him though the formation, one gruelling step at a time. There were moments when he would look at her like she was crazy, telling her that it was physically impossible to move one's body like that, or that the plan was physically improbable. Technically the most efficient plan was being blatantly ignored, but in the end he listened to his sister.

Chase stayed though and slowly, very slowly, she guided him through the routine, even if she had to physically grab his hands and take him through one of the new moves. He paid attention, asked questions and even if he disagreed- he never took charge. She was the teacher, and he was but a student.

Neither of the two noticed when Mr Davenport stuck his head into the lab to grab his latest prototype to show Leo. He silently watched for a moment, his only daughter leading his youngest son through the formation he refused to take part in before. Both were laughing as she grabbed his arms and brought them into a fighting stance, or corrected his posture. It was pretty heart-warming, so in an attempt not to disturb the two, he tiptoed over to his desk, grabbed the file and made a hasty exit.

"You know, I never imagined you leading me though a formation before," Chase grinned as he tried out the next step in the pattern on the slow motion ninja 'running' at him.

"Neither did I," Bree agreed.

"Why are you being so...nice and helpful?"

"Why are you letting me?"

Both siblings smiled.

* * *

The next day in training the formation was executed perfectly and they were allowed to move on. The day after that, there was Bree's first mission as trial Mission Leader. She was in charge of getting a group of kids out of a school bus hanging off the end of cliff, while trying not to activate the weight sensitive bomb strapped on the bottom of the bus. The mission was a success, and almost as soon as Mr Davenport congratulated her for executing the perfect plan, she smiled and told him, rather shakily, that being a mission leader wasn't for her.

"It was really fun, great experience. But I'm just not cut out for situations we can't reset, my stress levels were through the roof. All I could think about was making the wrong decision, someone could have died and it would have been my fault."

Mr Davenport understood nodded, asked if she was sure, then called Chase over, "You're the unquestioned Missions Leader again."

The bionic looked between Mr Davenport and his sister, before allowing a smile to grace his features, "Really?"

The other two nodded. Chase looked like he was about to break out into a happy dance, when he surprised everyone and turned to Bree, "Maybe you can run a couple of scenario's some time, mix it up a bit."

Bree took his outstretched hand, and shook it, "Oh definitely."

The two shared a secret smile, completely oblivious to the fact that Mr Davenport knew exactly what they were thinking about.

"Maybe you can teach me a bit about the stuff we sell at Tech Town, someday?"

"You're on."

* * *

**So...What did you think? Gosh it feels like FOREVER since I did a Bree and Chase chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! It's a bit different from the parental chapter I did yesterday...this one has a more, I don't know, mature Chase? I think that's one way to explain it.**

**Umm yeah. So basically I was thinking about Chase being Mission Leader and then how it was weird that Bree didn't do it (Adam, even though I love him, quite frankly, would not make a very good one) thus this was born- the alternate universe where Bree was given a shot as Mission Leader and Chase was both upset (for obvious reasons...smarts is 'all' he really has [even though we ALL know how much more he can do] so being in charge was the perfect role for him...he's not exactly going to be reacting positively).**

**Oh, the things Chase couldn't pick up were how to react in situations that require more than your brain, like having to think about the emotional effects of things etc. So the stuff that, generally, involves more people and potential collateral damage (as Chase always works best on the missions where it's like a bomb to defuse or something [things that don't involve people]...if that makes sense). So basically Bree was helping through a simulation of one of those situations, taking him through the prearranged fight and steps to save everyone. Yeah.**

**Thank you, once again, so SO very much for your WONDERFUL reviews, they're just so HEART WARMING and INCREDIBLE!  
Seriously, hearing what you guys think is always AMAZING, and when you put in little things like person experiences and feelings etc.- it makes them all the more 'SQUEAL WORTHY*'**

**ANYWAYS...thanks for reading (especially this far), catch ya tomorrow? Bye!**

**p.s. I'd also like to thank everyone who quickly (and effectively) put me...what's the words I'm looking for...back in my place (not exactly right, but you know what I mean) about the OOCness. Sometimes I get a bit carried away and worry about what you guys will think, and being told that it's not the characters that are OOC (it's just that the plots etc. haven't been used in the show, so I have nothing to model off) was just SO RELIEVING and gave me a friendly reminder on just how KIND and LOVELY you all are. Seriously, thanks... :)**

***let's face it, anything and everything you INCREDIBLY SPECTACULAR people do is 'squeal worthy' ;)**


	19. Baseball & Insults (Brothers)

**Hi everyone.**

**Oh my gosh, I am so so so so so so so so so so so so SORRY! Errghhh, I suck, I know, I'm sorry :(I had it ALL planned out, but then there was a major major assignment that counted for 50% of my grade (WHY DO TEACHERS EVEN DO THAT? IT'S SO UNFAIR!) and rehersals and (really LONG sigh) I swear the past three days have been: wake up, homework, school, rehersals, dinner, homework, homework, homework, bed (even my usual 'I'm not going to sleep until 3 am' mindset just vanished and I was SOOOOOO exhausted.) then repeat. Soooorrrryyyy!  
**

**And umm...moving on...sorry again...**

**Thank you all SO VERY MUCH! Wow, 191 reviews? ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE! I swear I almost died, somewhere between my sleep deprived, homework overloaded brain you still had the ability to find a place to put me into complete and utter HAPPY SHOCK! WOW. Seriously, I'm just in AWE of how INCREDIBLE you all are. BEAUTIFUL, WONDEROUS, SPECTACULAR, FANTASTIC, PERFECTLY AMAZING beings! THANK YOU!**

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**I don't own Lab Rats!  
**

**WARNING: insults (even though not bad ones, like those weird ones you'd say in primary school) and targeting an innocent bystander...**

**This chapter has got Spike, Chase (obviously), Leo and Adam (at the end).  
Enjoy! It's a bit random, but enjoy :)**

* * *

Spike had been an annoying little voice niggling in the back of his mind all day. Chase supposed that it was only fair that sometimes he'd entertain Spike's wants, you know, to stop a total internal uprising from the male who usually let Chase do whatever 'nerdy' things he wanted with minimal complaints.

But seriously, sometimes Spike asked a bit too much, at the wrong time, and it just got frustrating.

"_I get that you don't like reading, but can't you just go and do something else?"_

"**Like what?"**

"_I don't know, find something- we have a whole mental database at our disposal, search up some videos or funny memes."_

"**I don't want to."**

Chase internally sighed, _"Go through some old memories, you like doing that."_

"**I've been through them all. I lived through them all, actually. Idiot."**

"_Please, Spike…Just let me read one more chapter in peace, then we can go and do something that you want to, okay?"_

Sometimes Chase got sick of always having to cater to everyone else's needs, even in his own mind he was fighting for supremacy so he couldn't have activities dictated to him by a code in his brain. Okay….maybe that was a little harsh.

"**Fine,"** Spike finally spat in agreement, but he didn't sound very happy about it. He didn't leave, though, he just sat sulkily in the back of Chase's brain and read Odyssey along with the bionic he was melded to for life.

The youngest Davenport tried to read quickly, get through it as fast as possible so he could go take Spike out to go punch a wall or sit in at a baseball game, where his insults got washed away in the crowd. But the faster he read the more agitated Spike grew, but, when he slowed down he could practically envision a foot tapping and fingers drumming in inpatients. Chase was caught up in yet another impossible game.

"_Just a little bit longer, you're doing beautifully- I'm so proud of you."_

There was a huff from Spike, but the brunette knew Spike secretly liked it when Chase gave him praise.

"**I want an extra hour for having to put up with this, Vermin Breath."**

"_That's a new one," _Chase mentally commented, "_and you get all day, we can do something that interests you."_

Chase would have said 'we can do whatever you want', but he knew Spike would use that to his advantage. Chase always had to be careful about what he said to Spike, he was, after all, tactical and an opportunist at heart.

It was around this moment when the youngest Davenport noticed Leo take the seat opposite Chase on the dining room table. Why did he have to sit there? Why was he staring at you? No, he had to leave, Spike hated Leo with a vengeance, his very presence bothered his counterpart.

"**What's that pint sized vomit muncher doing? How **_**dare**_** he sit there. Get rid of him, now!"**

"_Spike, he's not doing anything, just leave him be."_

"Whatcha reading?" Seriously? He just had to talk to them, didn't he?

Chase wordlessly raised the book cover up. What? Leo could read, he wasn't putting in any unnecessary effort. Effort that he was currently using to quell the rising storm Spike was stirring up inside is gut.

"Cool. Good book?" Couldn't this kid take a hint?

"It's technically an epic classical _poem, __**but I didn't expect you to know that**__. It's good, easy read, not much thought required,"__ Leo missed the snark and bite riddled throughout his steely tone, Spike's word input shining through. He missed the clear dismissal._

_"**I swear, one more word and I'm ripping his tongue out of his head."**_

_"So…."_

_Spike snapped. Chase could barely contain him._

* * *

Leo sat opposite Chase, who was flicking through Odyssey not unlike a small child would a comic book. He was obviously reading the Greek version, not wanting to miss a single one of the original words- with their original intent- which was something that was generally lost through translations. Chase had rattled off some garbage about how every word was precious and specifically chosen, so any translation would lose the true impact the words….. _Blah, blah, blah._

Leo had zoned out of that conversation rather quickly. It, however, still plagued his mind like a bad dream, even though the whole exchange had occurred weeks ago.

Now all Leo was really doing was watching his brother, not in the creepy way- but the curious way. Chase seemed perfectly at ease, besides for the white knuckled grip he had on the book. Reading, not like comic book reading where there were pictures, but book reading. Leo couldn't understand how people did that for pleasure…..it was just weird.

Naturally Leo decided to break the silence with a couple of questions, show that he was interested in the boring stuff his step brother did. Be supportive and all of that. But the entire time every thoughtful look Leo tried to send Chase was lost upon a boy who couldn't draw his eyes away from the words flowing across the pages of Odyssey. Was it really _that _interesting?

So the two males sat in comfortable silence for a moment, well at least it was comfortable in Leo's humble opinion. But then again, that never really counted for much anyway.

"Yes?"

Leo looked around to see who Chase was addressing now. He glanced back at his stepbrother to see an air of blatant fury and resentment swimming around his head, but he seemed to be fighting to not make eye contact.

"What do you want?" Chase tried again, in a clipped yet demanding tone.

Oh, "Me?" Leo asked, indicating himself with both hands.

"What do you want?" He repeated.

"Nothing….am I bothering you?" he questioned, almost defensively.

"Yes."

"Well that's rude," Leo muttered, rolling his eyes, "how, tell prey, am I bothering you?"

"How, _pray tell, _am I bothering you," Chase corrected as his eyes pawed across the new page before him, "You didn't use the expression properly, and for starters," he paused again, before chuckling darkly, "I am certainly not _your_ prey."

Leo frowned and gave his brother a once over, "Are you going to answer the question, or avoid it?"

Chase smiled, snorted and turned another page. Seriously, was he just going to keep reading when people were trying to talk to him? That's just impolite. And he was being awfully creepy at the moment.

Almost as if he read his mind, Chase closed the book over. He then stood up and strolled around the dining room table to Leo, where he placed both of his hands on his step-brothers shoulders, a bit too tightly actually –it hurt.  
"Your constant stares, your breathing, your thinking, your very existence- take your pick."

The bionic then turned and made his way over to the staircase.

"Wha- how can my breathing, no wait, my _thinking_- bother you!?" Leo called after him, but Chase was already disappearing upstairs.

"What's his problem?" Leo questioned out loud. All he did was sit there, it's not like he was making any noise….well besides the breathing that was obviously too loud for Chase…..

'_Sorry bro, but I sort of need to breathe.'_

* * *

"**I want him to bite his tongue off, so I can force him to swallow it."**

"_Calm down."_

"**He's so pathetic. Can't the fudge muffin learn when to take a hint and take a hike- **_**I'll **_**even pay for the casket."**

"_We're out of there, just take some nice deep breaths-"_

"**Don't you **_**dare**_** use that anger management bull on me!" **Spike growled out, seething and practically spitting venom in the background.

"_You handled yourself well, you didn't physically hurt him once- you…uh…used your words," _Chase had spent the majority of the exchange with Leo trying to keep Spike's eyes off of Leo, keep the fuel away from the fire, so to speak, hold his counterpart back and get the two of them out of there.

"**I know. I was there….**_**dim-witted git**_**."**

Chase ignored that last part. He took a nice, calming, deep breath himself and tried to figure out the swiftest and safest route out of the house that didn't involve crossing anyone's path.

* * *

They ended up watching some minor league baseball game, but the language and threats hollered were bad enough to placate Spike's need to take over and let out his pent up aggression. It was a nice way to do so, Spike was uncharacteristically gracious about it. He didn't take complete control- just enough that he could shriek out insults to his heart's content- but allow Chase to retain some control and the ability to remember the event afterwards (a privilege he usually took away when he came out on the offense).

Spike was in the middle of some insinuation about some poor kid's mother when Chase saw a familiar figure sitting off to the side.

"_Spike, hey, look."_

Spike begrudgingly turned, gave a long winded sigh –like Chase was causing him physical pain– and literally shoved people out the way to march across to Drew.

"What are you doing here?" Spike wasn't the best at being polite, his question came across as borderline demanding, but Drew seemed unaffected by the tone.

"It's my brother's team."

"**Bloody upstanding member of the community, and here I thought he was okay," **Drew had won Spike over with his love of violent video games and horror movies based off of true stories. But now…..

"So I like to come and throw things at him and yell anonymous abuse."

Chase could feel Spike pull his face into a thoughtful expression, and nod in the 'not bad' kind of way.

"I approve, may I?" Spike indicated the popcorn tucked under Drew's arm.

"Go for it."

Spike sat down beside Drew, grabbed a handful of still warm popcorn and started aiming for the lady's drink two rows in front of them. He got them in, obviously, then used the remainder of the buttery treat on her curly hair, which the popcorn clung to.

He held onto one though, an evil glint in his eye as he waiting, ever the strategist. He picked up Drew's water bottle and squired a bit off water on it, making it cool and soggy, he then waiting until….there, _perfect._

When the lady took a sip of her drink, inhaled popcorn and bent forward to spit it out, Spike threw the popcorn with perfect precision, so it slid down her back collar and went down her back.

"Eewww!" She cried as she sprung up and scurried away, after looking around and shooting Drew, the obvious young hooligan, a dirty look. Because Spike loved using Chase's trustworthy face as an advantage, knowing the woman would overlook him.

Spike sniggered when she was out of earshot.

"Impressive," emotionless and detached as always. It was good to know that nothing ever really changed Drew's tone. Well until his brother stepped up to the plate, then his demeanour completely changed.

"YOU SUCK! GO HOME YOU LITTLE BUMHAT, NOBODY LIKES YOU- YOU STUPID MONKEY POOPAPOTAMUS**! **YOUR MOTHER'S A-" Chase was internally shocked by Drew's sudden outburst, the one that was still going. It was the most emotive and animated he'd ever seen his friend. Externally, however, Spike was laughing his head off.

"-YOU BUBBLE BLOWING PIGBUSH!...Sorry. My mum told me I couldn't swear at him, so I had to compromise."

Spike shoved Drew on the shoulder, which Chase had learnt was one of Spike's ways of showing affection. Drew shoved him back. The two spent the afternoon throwing stuff at Sebastian and people in the crowd- taking turns trying to out insult each other.

It was a fun afternoon, even though it all left Chase slightly mortified.

* * *

"_So, what do you think?"_

"**Eh, he's tolerable."**

Chase smiled, that was as far as Spike would ever go in admitting positive feelings about someone….well besides that time when Spike told Chase that he 'liked' him, even though he and Spike had been thoroughly sedated and weren't exactly themselves at that time.

At least that entire experience taught Mr Davenport to keep needles and gun prototypes away from Adam…..

* * *

When the two had gotten home, Spike was back to contently swimming through Chase's old memories and dropping occasional snide remarks about their surroundings.

Chase had made a quick detour on the way home, stopping off at the shopping centre to duck into one of the game shops. So, when he walked through the door and got the cold shoulder by Leo, he could immediately bring him back around with the 'ZOMBIE SMASHER, RAIDER OF THE MARSHES'.

"This isn't even out yet, how did you get it?" Leo asked in slight awe as he gingerly handled the game.

"My friend buys so much stuff there that they give him special deals, I just borrowed his membership card and got taken into the back room to see all of the pre-released games. I thought you'd like that one the best though."

Leo's response was to tear up and pull his step brother into a tight hug, which Chase awkwardly returned with a stiff 'back pat'.

Adam came in, eating a bowl of cereal with milk dribbling down his chin, from the direction of the lift.

"Fun game?"

"Huh?" Chase questioned, instantly suspicious when he realised he was directing his question at his younger brother and not Leo.

"You know the little people's baseball- and not little people like, you know,_ little_ people –like you- but kids? Yeah, I saw you there with that creepy 'I only wear black' kid."

"Wait, what were you doing there?"

"Oh, I'm a major Pewee sports supporter, just watching little people run around playing big people sports is almost as funny as watching you navigate the kitchen," Adam chuckled.

Okay, so one time Chase had to climb onto the bench to get something, it was before his molecular kinesis came in, and Adam would not let him forget it. Once time. One! It was unfair. Okay….maybe twice…three times tops….But seriously, who puts the cups on the top shelf?

"Yeah, it was a fun game. _One time._ What did you think?"

"Well there was someone who kept yelling out really weird, yet age appropriate insults. _Try thirteen. _But it was still as fun as always….especially when that little blond kid got pelted with popcorn."

Chase chuckled at the memory, he knew very well who that kid was….Drew's little brother had a lot of popcorn to pick out of his hair thanks to Spike and his emotionally repressed friend.

"Besides, I coach one of the kids."

"Wait, what?" Chase did a double take.

"**What did that human garbage face just say?"**

"_Getting a little farfetched with those insults, huh Spikey?"_

"**I'm tired, sue me. Oh, and call me Spikey again and I'll rip your fingers off and shove them down your throat….or I'll tell Adam that you-"**

"_DON'T YOU DARE!" _Chase cut Spike off. Only to receive a dark chuckle.

"-Benjamin," Adam finished.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Adam let out a long winded sigh, not unlike what Spike often did, like Chase caused him physical pain.  
"I said, I coach one of the kids for a project in Art and Sport. Don't tell the teacher's I'm doing the same project for two different classes. He's alright, gets me two passes- his name's Benjamin."

Chase paused for a moment while the information sunk in, "okay. I get Sport, but why Art?"

"I don't know. I got parental permission to take photos and then sketch them out," Adam shrugged, in between mouthfuls of soggy mush, "And I think Ms Lewig was tired of signing off on clay pots for students' major projects."

"…..Cool," Leo came in before the two brothers could continue their conversation any longer, "Now, as much as I love to hear about school on the weekend…..I don't. So why don't we all sit down and DESTROY ALL OF THE ZOMBIES IN MANHATTEN!"

"I thought the zombies were in a marsh?" Chase questioned as he picked up a controller.

"Manhattan got turned into a massive marsh, duh," Leo scoffed.

"Yeah, duh," Adam added, "don't you know your basic zombie apocalypse geo-whatsy?"

"_Geography,"_ Chase mentally corrected, knowing it was pointless to do it out loud, everything went over Adam's head anyway.

And so the three of them started playing. Leo forgetting about Chase's weird session in the morning, Adam overlooking his brother abusing people and throwing popcorn at bystanders, and, the brunette forgetting about Spike being uncooperative an annoying for half of the day. But then again, that's just what brothers do, forgive (if necessary) and forget…..move on. Because even if they don't admit it, they all do it, because if they didn't….what'd happen?

Total anarchy. That's what. Well, that's just one possible theory, but Spike liked the sound of it. Anarchy….hmm.

* * *

**So, what did you think? I personally wasn't too happy with the end- I mean I liked it enough to keep it in- but I couldn't really think of a definitive ending. I, PERSONALLY, love Drew's insults...but that's probably because it's 1:36am here and my mind is slight mush right now...**

**OH and Spike just hates Leo because of the resentment Chase once had for him. It's just that Chase moved on and Spike didn't...**

**Ummm I also wanted to say that I put Drew in this chapter because you guys seem to like him (based off of your wonderfully positive and lovely reviews) and because I find him easy to write...if that makes sense...But seriously, tell me if you don't like him- I don't want to be shoving an OC down everyone's throat.**

**Anyways, for all of those who've sent me an idea: I've read them all and am slowly working on them all...don't worry...I don't forget any of them, and, I ALWAYS welcome new ideas whenever you have them :)**

**Thank you so much you GORGEOUS, CHARMING AND AWE INSPIRING individuals- I swear you guys are the best thing ever, every review I get from you all is BEAUTIFUL and squeal worthy...the thought you guys put in is just INCREDIBLE. So thank you, each and every one of you :)**

**Don't worry, you'll definietly catch me tomorrow. I hope to see you there ;)**

**Bye!**

**(I'll give you fluff [because this chapter was to work as a counterbalance for the super fluffy chapters so everything doesn't just turn to mush...like my brain right now...])**


	20. Abducted (My 'Daddy' Never Told Me)

**Hi everyone!**

**OMG 200 REVIEWS, TWO HUNDRED? I just can't...words don't seem to be able to make it from my brain down to my hands...THIS IS AN INDESCRIBABLY FEELING. WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, W-O-W!**

**THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! Seriously, you guys are the best, I'm so happy right now it should be illegal! Seriously, GAHHHHHHH (and I don't even know what 'gahhhhhh' means, but it sounds right!) YOU beautiful, spectacular, wondrous, amazing, fantastic, ridiculously terrific, gracious, gorgeous, stupendous BEINGS! THANK YOU, just, THANK YOU!**

**I don't own Lab Rats**

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**Okay, sorry guys –I know I promised fluff- but I was just watching the news with my mum and it was about this abduction/kidnapping thing that occurred sometime in the 90s out in Bathurst (Aus) and then one thought led to another and this was born. The Lovely Bones was also a bit of an influence...even though I'm not really sure if the final chapter has anything that really reflects the book in it...  
**

******WARNING: Someone being abducted, STRANGER DANGER, slight violence (but not really...more part 2, if you want a second chapter of this, that is), creepy dude, freaking out parent, OCs etc. You get the picture, this does have Chase being abducted, so it's not going to be the most cheerful chapter...YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!  
**

******ENJOY :) (Wow, it sounds weird telling someone to enjoy a chapter about a teenager being abducted...)**

* * *

It happened after the debate. Mr Davenport couldn't pick him up, so Chase volunteered to walk the five and a half kilometers home, it wasn't that far away, and he was in a group. Bree, Adam and Leo had skipped off after the bell, but Chase had stayed in the hall to take part in an epically terrible debate. Honesty, the other team had speeches that gave off the air of 'panicked last minute car notes' it was that bad.

They left the school around five at night with the sky riddled with little rain clouds. But no one really noticed nor cared about it at the time, just like they remained oblivious to how the darkness had begun weaving a thick web of black around them.

They were all drunk off of their win, joking and quoting snippets of the opposing team's case, at that moment they all felt so young and indomitable, united once more over their shared love of proving people wrong.

Chase was indescribably joyful, sure he was standing amongst students whose loyalty was easily shaken, but, that whole bullying fiasco had occurred months ago, and they were all human, right? It's an undeniable fact they we all make mistakes, have an error in our judgement calls. Even the best of us.

Julie had gotten home fairly quickly, her house was only a block away from school – she was the first to bid her fellow debaters a safe journey home, give them all an awkward fist and turn down her street.

Matt left a little while later, his mum had pulled up next to them and picked him up, offering everyone a lift that they all politely declined. Sure it was most likely offered out of formality, but why hadn't he taken it?

After Matt left there was only Timothy, Susanna and Chase left. They hadn't debated, Susanna had stayed after school to show her support and Timothy was the timekeeper- considering they were the affirmative team and had to provide one. The two had complimented Chase on his use of analogies and emotive language, it kept the mood surrounding the trio light. Compliments led to them all effortlessly falling into an in-depth discussion about persuasive techniques and how they thought the adjudicator was partially biased towards the other team, most likely out of pity, but ultimately made an impartial ruling.

* * *

Before Chase knew it Susanna had been walked to her door by an overly enthusiastic Timothy –please call me Tim– McWiggins. After that, Chase made the detour to walk with his final fellow debater to his house.

They decided that it was best to stay together for as long as possible, continue their flowing discussion. Besides, it was probably an easier walk for Chase considering he only had to continue down the main road and take a right turn to get home. It was a rather ingenious plan, really, and it wasn't like the off route trip put Chase too far behind his self-imposed schedule.

So the two continued with their amicable conversations, exchanging pleasantries and dancing around the last few months like it was a Pandora's Box they were waiting for the other to open.

Finally they hit Timothy's street. They stood there for a moment, both wondering when the moment was the most appropriate to go their separate ways.

"Are you sure you don't want a lift? I mean it's only," the lanky boy glanced down at wristwatch, "five twenty three. I'm sure Mum'll be happy to drop you home."

Chase waved the offer off, "I don't want to cause an unnecessary hassle, I'm sure Mrs McWiggins is busy making dinner. Besides it's only a short walk- fifteen minutes tops."

Tim scratched the back of his head, obviously not wanting to leave his friend (well everyone was still unsure about what this debate meant….whether or not Chase was their friend once more.) outside alone.

"The street lights are only just turning on now, I know where I'm going. I'll text you when I get home, okay? I'll be fine," I'm bionic, Chase almost wanted to add.

In a small little town like this, with super abilities like Chase's- it was almost comical how Timothy worried over him, obviously seeing the weak and nerdy façade he presented to everyone at school on a daily basis.

This seemed to qualm some of the boy's concerns, he nodded happily and almost turned into his street- when a car pulled up.

"Excellent debate boys," the teenage driver commented, "Obviously it was a massacre, but I never really expected much from Kensburg anyways. My brother wrote his speech in the car he was so unorganised."

The boys turned around and saw the male, Senior by the looks, smiling good-naturedly at them from the driver's seat. Timothy grinned and shrugged it off as another small town person being friendly, but Chase immediately gave the teenager and his car a thorough analysis:

Kensburg beanie, cue cards in his centre console and reading book tucked away in the side of the vehicle – a romance novel with a pink bookmark. The car was a small, red, compact little thing, and paint cans were neatly stacked along the back seats. The guy's dirty fingernails were lightly clutching the wheel. Chase could vaguely remember the kid standing at the back of the hall, looking uninterested in his obscure band t-shirt.

All signs pointed to the kid driving his brother to the debate in his mum's car, but where was the brother? Chase quickly shook the question off as him being too paranoid, this was just a regular student pulling up to tell him 'good job', it had happened before. Chase was just looking too deeply into things. But what did he think could go wrong, anyway?

"Thanks sir," Timothy nodded, smiling politely.

"Sir? Please," the teen snorted, "I only went because my brother needed a lift, went over to a mates house afterwards- nice of him not to tell me, 'hung around all bloody debate for him and I could have done a drop and run- but nah," the kid shook his shaggy haired head, "usually debates sucks, but you guys had some pretty inventive ways of calling my brother's team uneducated idiots. I give you props."

Both boys nodded politely, immediately thinking of the shameful speeches issued by the Kensburg team, trying to place which speaker best fitted the older boy driving the car. They both concluded on different kids, but never conferred.

The three stayed in their respective positions for a long moment.

"So yeah. This is awkward…." The teenager finally broke the silence, smacked his lips and tapped at his wheel.

Chase gave an awkward laugh, waiting for the boy to drive off, when suddenly it started raining- bucketing really. The driver swore and flicked his windscreen wipers on.

"That was sudden," the teen chuckled before giving the boys a once over, "you guys don't want a lift, do you?"

"No thanks," Timothy replied in a clipped and formal tone, strange, before Chase even thought about opening his mouth, "We're almost home, aren't we bro?"

"Uh, yeah?" It came out like a question as the youngest Davenport tried to piece together what his questionable friend was doing.

"Suit yourselves," the driver hummed as the rain increased in both volume and intensity.

"Come back to my place, hang out for a while –we can drive you home," Timothy grabbed Chase's arm and pulled him close to huff out in his ear.

The youngest Davenport shook his head, "I have to get home sooner rather than later," training had been postponed until six and Chase either needed to take the lift or start walking now.

"All the more reason to come back with me, my mum can just quickly drive you down, or we can get you an umbrella."

Why was Tim going crazy about getting a lift? It was going to be five point four eight minutes in a car before he was home.

"Chase?" Timothy said, successfully making his name sound like a question and a warning all at once, before shaking his head, "we shouldn't get into a car with a stranger."

Chase hesitated for a moment, searching back to see if Mr Davenport had ever mentioned something like that. No, he hadn't, so it mustn't be that big a deal, just Timothy being weird. He had no idea what his questionable friend was even worried about, what's the worst that could happen, the guy would get lost on the way to Chase's house? Highly unlikely.

"Stranger?" The teen interrupted, obviously catching Timothy's hushed whispers….impressive hearing, "Dude, I know exactly who he is. We live like a street away from each other, I'm on Flender's - Davenport, yeah?"

The boy in questioned nodded in affirmation, searching his brain for memories of the teen, and…yes, he'd run into the guy at the milk bar that morning and last Saturday, both times when he was picking up some milk for Tasha. The Davenports drank a lot of milk.

"Yeah, it's fine- I know him."

Timothy gave an unimpressed look, but shrugged when he got tag teamed by two sets of questioning eyes, "Whatever. Text me when you get home, okay."

He didn't sound very happy about it though, actually he sounded fairly nervous.

"Yeah, sure," Chase muttered distractedly as he shuffled around to the passenger side, opening the door.

"Chase?" Timothy shuffled on his feet, biting his lip until the bionic made eye contact, "I'm serious, text me."

He must have picked up the slight tremor in his companions voice, because instead of rolling his eyes Chase smiled and put all the reassurance he could into two words: "I will."

* * *

Donald was pacing backwards and forwards in front of the couch. Adam and Leo making moving motions with their hands whenever he blocked their vision of the television, but obscuring their vision of some rugby game they could easily rewind was nowhere near as concerning as his late son.

It had started out with them all waiting around the dining room table, having an early dinner before training, waiting for Chase to get back from his debate. But when he didn't come they assumed he was taking his time and began eating without him.

At six Donald had clucked at his watch and told Adam and Bree to change into their training gear, that their brother would be home any minute.

When it hit six thirty Donald was worried but ultimately swallowed down his anxiety, Chase probably stayed at someone's house- it was raining after all….but it was when Donald tried to call his youngest, ready to reprimand him for not calling, when he started panicking. The phone rang out.

"Maybe he just left it somewhere, you know Chase…..maybe he didn't hear it?" Tasha tried, rubbing her husband's arm comfortingly when he first began showing signs of nervousness.

"Not hear?" Bree snorted, coming up from the lab to see why they hadn't started training yet, but when she saw her father's worried face she quickly changed her attitude, "the debate probably ran overtime and they got held up in the hall because of the rain. I can run over, take a look around if you want?"

Donald nodded at Bree, who quickly sped out of the door.

"Why are you worried?" Tasha murmured into Donald's ear, "He's bionic, he fights ninja's as a recreational activity, he can handle a little rain."

"I made him walk home, I was too busy working on that electromagnetic field dispenser," Mr Davenport bit his lip.

"He would have walked back in a group, Chase is a smart kid, I'm sure Bree'll come back with him. He was probably stopped over at Timothy or Matt's house," she reassured, picking up the phone, "do you want me to call them?"

Bree took that moment to run back into the house, bent over and panting into her knees, "I…I ran…a-all over…town," she puffed out, between deep breaths, "N-no sign."

Tasha wordlessly dialled the Alicay's number. Donald silently wondered whether it was time to tell the kid's about their dad….this could be Douglas, after all.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Do- Hi Charlotte, it's Tasha-," she tried to warn her husband, who was obviously already jumping to the worst possible conclusions, before Mrs Alicay picked up and she cut herself off to start talking to Matt's mother.

* * *

Chase knew something was wrong when he felt that the teen driving the car had no intentions of slowing down at the turn off for his street. All of the over cockiness for being bionic and elation from his debate disappeared in an instant.

The little red car sped passed the turn off and kept driving.

"Uh, Josh, you missed the turn off," Chase chuckled, some part of his brain telling him to use the name the teen had supplied. He tried to turn the situation into a joke, an honest mistake, just to stop the burning sensation in his nose from blowing up and sending him into panic mode.

Bree liked to joke that Chase turned into Rudolph, some fictional reindeer, when he got seriously anxious. But reindeer resemblance or not, all the youngest Davenport knew was that his burning nose was a warning system that went off when something wasn't quite right.

"I know," Josh's voice was different, it was more steely and gravely- courser that the happy and youthful tone he'd played around with before.

"Josh?"

The teenager tightened his hand on the steering wheel, but said nothing.

Chase took a glance in the rear-view mirror and saw a shovel and toolbox lying on the floor of the backseat. He could just be renovating, right?

"Josh, c-can you please stop the car," he grimaced at how small and pathetic his voice came out, like a frightened little mouse.

"_But isn't that what you are?"_

"I want to show you something," was the only gruff reply he got.

"Well I don't want to see it, I want you to pull over, NOW!"

The phone in the centre console rang, Josh reached across and answered it before Chase could make a grab for it. All the bionic caught was the start of the person's name 'D' something.

"Yeah…..I got him….Nah, it's funny…Yeah, he does…..It's great to watch their reactions when they realise….okay….got it…..bye," Josh grinned maliciously down the line, contorting his face into an expression even the best actors couldn't capture, before he hung up.

"….Your name's not Josh, is it?"

"Nope."

"You're not taking me home either," it wasn't a question.

"You catch on fast."

"Am, uh, am I ever going to, you know, go home?"

Josh laughed, reached across and ruffled Chase's hair, "what do you think, Chasey-boy?"

The youngest Davenport gulped. He'd never been prepared for a situation like this, all he had was instincts.

_What to do…What to do?  
Spike?  
Molecular Kinesis?  
Contact Bree and Adam?  
Reasoning?_

The option list looked promising, he was smart, the smartest person alive, he was bionic- he had this.

"Here," the teenager, or young adult -whatever he was- shoved Chase's phone in his hand, breaking him out of his thoughts, "I want you to text that kid and tell him you got home safe. Do it, now."

Chase let out a shaky laugh, staring at the phone in his palm for a moment in stunned, dumb confusion. This was the perfect opportunity to call the police, call Mr Davenport, call anyone- and all he could do was look at his mobile. When Chase didn't act fast enough, Josh slammed his head into the dashboard. He felt his nose, blood was trickling out of.

Chase shakily clutched his phone and flicked it on, glancing across at Josh, who was shooting him a 'try me' smile. He made his decision and opened up a new text.

_**To: Timothy McWiggins**_

_Got home safe._

"See you tomorrow," Josh added, glancing across at Chase's screen.

"Will I though?"

"That's not the point."

_**To: Timothy McWiggins**_

_Got home safe.  
See ya tomorrow,  
C.D._

Chase hit send. "Done."

"Good," Josh snatched his phone away and threw it over into the back somewhere. They were back in silence again.

There was a time when he could hear his phone ringing in the backseat, Josh sent Chase a sideways look- but even though every instinct told him to make a grab for the phone, he knew he wouldn't be able to grab it fast enough….and staying on Josh's good side increased his chance of survival.

Instead, Chase took the silence as an opportunity to focus, send a message out to Adam and Bree. He composed a basic message, coordinates, situation and how they needed to get here ASAP.  
An error notice flashed before his eyes. He tried again. Chase could feel his heart beat accelerate and his breath quicken, why wasn't it working?

**Commando App: ACTIVATED**

Chase let out a relieved sigh, for once he was glad to see Spike come out and-

**Commando App: DEACTIVATED**

What?

**Commando App: ACTIVATED**

**Commando App: DEACTIVATED**

The words kept jumping around across his vision, switching over almost as quickly as they appeared. He tried to contact Spike, but all he got was static.

"_Spike! PLEASE?" _Chase mentally begged, praying for a reply.

"_COME ON! I need you…."_

Chase had never been completely cut off from Spike for as long as he could remember, _"…Spike?"_

Finally the static parted enough, but not for anything logical to come through, **"Ca….wn."**

"What?"

"**C…..d….."**

"_I don't understand you!"_

But then the static took over fully and he knew Spike was lost. His messages wouldn't send and he couldn't concentrate long enough to use his Molecular Kinesis…..he tried but his brain was too busy panicking. Even with the most efficiently functioning brain in the world, he couldn't stop it from being overrun by fear…because truthfully, Chase was utterly terrified.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise."

"Why me?"

Chase received a shrug.

"How did you know I'd get in the car with you?"

"I didn't."

"Oh."

"I scouted you out at the milk bar last Saturday, made sure to make a repeat appearance, makes me a familiar face, more trustworthy. Followed you home once, to make sure I knew where you lived. I found out you were having a debate, stole some kid's beanie so I looked like I was from the other school. Kids trust other school kids, don't ask me why. I stood inside the doors and then waited. I was going to just grab you, but I always try to give 'em an option, it creates less of a scene."

"This was premeditated?"

"Obviously," there was a snort, "and here I was thinking you were smart."

"Do you do this often?"

"All the time. It's easier in these types of towns, everyone just trusts each other."

"…..Will I ever see my family again?"

There was a dark chuckle, "you're funny. Didn't your daddy ever tell you not to talk to strangers, let alone get in their car?"

No. No he didn't.

* * *

None of the debating families had heard from Chase since he left their respective children. However, the only 'hope', which subsequently filled every member of the household with dread, came from Timothy.

His mother had placed him on the phone when he started yammering on about how Chase had to be home and how it was all his fault.

"-He said he knew him, I was worried at first but then Chase sent me a text saying he got home okay. I thought he got home okay!" There was hushed whispering on the other side of the phone as Mrs McWiggins tried to calm her son down.

"Tim? Do you remember what the car looked like?" Donald gritted his teeth as he tried to stop himself from screaming down the line.

_How could Timothy let Chase get into that car? Why would Chase do it in the first place? Who was this guy, did he know Douglas, was that it?_

"Red lancer, I remember the numberplate," Timothy then proceeded to ramble off a string of numbers and letters, which Donald immediately searched.

The plates were stolen.

"Any luck tracing Chase's signal?" Mr Davenport called across to Leo and Bree, who were bent over another computer trying to triangulate Chase's location via chip.

"No. The signal keeps fluctuating, whenever we get close there's a flare and we lose it again, what's wrong with his chip?"

"Nothing," Donald breathed out, much to the confusion of the two teenagers he had opposite him.

Donald was right, there was nothing wrong with the chip itself, but the person it was inside. Mr Davenport could practically envision all of the horrible scenarios that could have Chase panicking so much that his brainwaves were interfering with his chips signal.

"What?" Leo asked in confusion, "Isn't that a good thing? His chips fine."

Donald grimaced, "No, it most certainly is not a good thing."

Unless Chase calmed down he wouldn't be able to access any of his abilities to get him out of that situation. Unless he calmed down, Donald dreaded to think of the consequences.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Do you think it was Douglas or just some random guy abducting him? (Which would you prefer?) This fic will have 2 parts if you're interested in the second. Don't worry, Chase has...or forms...a plan! (That's more where it starts reflecting the news story I watched).**

**I know, I know, It's little (a lot) darker than usual. ( I did rate this 'T' just in case I ended up writing something dark).  
But I just had this idea that would not move out of the way...it was a VERY STUBBORN idea...**

**Okay, so since Davenport had the lab rats in well...a lab...he probably didn't have the need to teach them all of the life lessons- like look both ways before crossing the street and 'stranger danger'- so Chase is EXTREMELY OBTUSE when it comes to those subjects. That's why he was so willing to get into the car of someone he didn't really know.  
**

**His debating buddy, of course, saw the warning signs but didn't really think it was his place to intervene when both his friend and the 'teenager' were adamant that they weren't strangers...dropping street names also backed up the story... **

**Donald, obviously FREAKED when he figured out something was wrong. But not as much as Chase, who went into PANIC MODE. So I thought that his panicking could stop Spike being able to appear (overwhelmed) which is why Spike tried to tell Chase to "CALM DOWN". Especially since his bionics don't work when he's so anxious and unfocus...sy. (But I briefly explained that in the chapter.)  
**

**ANYWAYS, thank you SO MUCH for the 200 reviews, you guys are simple incredible :D  
I LOVE YOU ALL! (In the non creepy, platonic way...)**

**Catch you tomorrow, right? Bye **

**P.S. please enjoy the happy feels and virtual hugs I'm sending out your way. Seriously, thank you for reading this far...it means more than words can type [:,D**** & ********;)**]


	21. Son-Of-Mine (Abducted 2)

**Hey guys,**

**NOTE: So please bear with me this chapter (not like you guys aren't all incredible anyways)My computer decided to crash and so I practically lost everything...Including Word...so this is the first chapter I've just typed straight into here, so I hope it works out...I wasn't going to type up a chapter today, but this is my stress reliever, the highlight of my day (and I don't know how long it'll take to fix my computer) so I decided to try and stick to my 'regular' posting schedule.  
**

**Okay, so...THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Seriously, 220 reviews? 11 for last chapter alone! That's just amazing, you all had me jumping around my room silently squealing! You're all the ABSOLUTE BEST! WOW! Thank you for sticking with this story so far :) I L-O-V-E you all!**

** And welcome new readers (even though by the time you get to this chapter I don't really think I can call you new anymore...I noticed a few new faces in the reviews (yes I know who all my reviewers are) so that was a pleasant surprise :)Hi and THANK YOU so much!  
**

**As a whole, yeah, THANK YOU! (I feel like I keep saying that...)You're all REMARKABLY WONDROUS and SPECTACULARLY MARVELOUS!  
[As always ;) ]**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats (even though I'm fairly certain you all would have worked that out a long, LONG, time ago).**

**WARNING: Get's more creepier, a tiny bit of violence etc, yeah -you've been warned. It's got a kidnapping in it, so obviously it's not going to be all happy.  
**

**Enjoy! (sorry it's short).  
**

* * *

There came this little moment, barely lasting a second, but in that second he knew he had broken. Everyone faced with death comes across it at some stage, that fragment of a instant where they suddenly lose all of their hope, know of their defeat and give in. It was dark after that, dark and so very, very cold.

They'd been driving for a very long while, usually Chase would be able to tell you the exact time down to the second, but right now any amount of time he'd been in this car was far too long. Half of him wanted the car to stop, the other half was petrified on what their destination would be. Why had he gotten in the car. Stupid. _Stupid_. STUPID! How could be so thick? No matter, though, it was too late now.

Chase could hear his heartbeat thrum at a too fast pace inside his chest, feel the way his clammy fingers were shaking against his fidgeting knees. There was an unshakable lump that was slowly rising up his throat and, well, Chase wasn't quite sure if it was a sign of future sickness or something to tie together with the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. And he could do nothing to stop it. He was just so powerless, and so very, very _human. _Chase supposed that, yes, he may have always been human, but with bionic abilities he had never formed the direct correlation between himself and the everyday, vulnerable people he walked passed every day -because he was supposed to be special, but obviously he wasn't.

_"No, you've got this -use that brain of yours- that big beautiful mind you've been completely ignoring. You are Chase Davenport and you are not accepting death from some creep in a shoddy red car."_

It sounded like something Spike would say, well, minus the obvious insults and not being slurred out with much less thought and empowering insults to work as backhanded compliments.

_"Don't give in, not yet. He pushes you,you push back...He yells, you yell back...he thinks your some weak little school boy, an easy target, prove him wrong. What's the worst that could happen?"_

Yes, he could do that.

"How do you feel about some company?" Came a sneer from the driver, by now he was done toying with Chase -at least for now- and had dropped the entire teenager act. Now he was just a malevolent, psychotic, evil man.

The youngest Davenport raised his chin, refusing to answer. He may have lost hope, but that didn't mean his dignity had dissipated as well -he'd fight 'til the very end if he had to, tooth and claw until his last breath. His mind was right, what _was_ the worst that could happen?

"Answer me."

_"Don't."_

It is, after all, in our natural human survival instincts to not go down without leaving some mark, no matter how temporary. When held in a situation like this, to be so free and dignified, to hold such a stately level of decorum and silence, in the face of death -made his existence a very act of rebellion.

The man seized his face with one slender, yet surprisingly strong, hand. He squeezed, trying to prove to his captive who was in charge and what happened when he didn't get his way, but all Chase did was meet his steely gaze with an equally callous stare. The scratches on his face were worth it.

* * *

Donald was at a loss of what to do. He'd always imagined that he'd lose a child in a battle, an honorable fight where it just wasn't their lucky day. But not like this, never like this. He'd had no time to mentally prepare himself for this, no walls carefully constructed to block out the pain, and it was certainly excruciating, like his chest was slowly being opened and his heart was being mercilessly gauged out.

Mr Davenport had initially entertained the idea that it was his brother, coming back from the grave to seek a sort of perverse revenge for taking the experiments. But no, Douglas was dead. Donald just needed something, anything, to stop him from thinking about the truth -whatever it took to stop him seeing the depths of how truly evil the world was. From seeing some stranger target his little Chasey and take him away for God knows what.

"Donnie?" Even Eddy had some grasp on the severity of the situation, because he was yet to draw out some snide remark from his never ending arsenal of insults.

"Hmm?"

"I'm picking up something, it's faint, I can't triangulate it -but I can give you an approximate area- 5000km wide."

Five thousand? Bree could run that, she could find Chase.

"Bree?" Donald called out, a tone of urgency in his voice, to have his daughter bolt in panting and soaked from the rain she had been running around in for the past three hours. She looked so very tired, but more determined and focused than he'd ever seen her before.

"Any news?" She breathed, schooling her features to hide the hope bubbling behind her grave face.

"Bring up the map, Eddy."

* * *

The thing that killed him most was the uncertainty -the man driving him had done little to calm his piquing nerves, besides flip on the radio to some unheard of country radio station- and no matter what the situation, not knowing was something that always put Chase on edge.

The car finally slowed to a stop, Chase would have run out the door, but the locks were down and the window handle had been ripped off- the person who had played around with the inside of the car door had made it impossible to open from the inside. Clever.

"Don't move," Chase could feel the knife being held to his throat as the car door was flung open.

A little girl, innocent enough in her little pink dress, was standing there clutching the hand of a middle aged man.

"Daddy, can we keep it?" The little pigtailed child turned to her father, looking down at Chase with unrestrained curiosity.

"Now Darlin', you know the rules. Mother has to decide," his voice was oily, some might find it charming, but it all made Chase recoil slightly at the baritone tone, leaning away from the torch being held up to his face as the slightly sweaty man inspected him. Clutching his face and turning to it different angles, before looking for signs of injury, like Mr Davenport had done on numerous occasions. Except this was different, this was clinical and detached.

Chase wanted to argue, wanted to scream out that he wasn't some prize cattle to be inspected for sale, but his voice had been lost a long time ago, and he was afraid of what would happen if he found it.

"Well?" his _chauffeur_ questioned, "Did I do good?"

"You're late, Mother is upset."

The younger man's voice changed, he lowered his head like a scolded child, "sorry Father."

The man nodded, before he seemed to consider his next answer, giving Chase one final look, "I suppose you did, not the best, but he'll do. Mother has the final say though, what do you think? Do you want to anger her with another potential failure at this time? Or take the chance?"

'Josh' seemed to shrink back in his seat, look across Chase, who still had his head pulled back by the middle aged man. He raised his knife, bit his lip, and looked back at Chase. Then it clicked, the young man before him was deciding whether or not he should slit his throat.

"Hmm...Better not risk it," Josh finally decided, causing the older man to tighten his grip on Chase's neck so he couldn't turn away.

"But Daddy," the little girl halted the two men, "don't I get a say?"

"Of course you do, Daughter-of-mine," he felt the man coo, and envisioned his greasy smile.

"Well, I like him. You thought the last boy was perfect and Mother ended up hating him, don't you think that..." she paused.

_"Tell her your name."_

"Chase, m-my names Chase," he spluttered, wheezing slightly due to his restricted airways by the way that oaf was clasping his head and neck.

"Very well then," it was almost eerily formal for such a small child, "Don't you think _Chase_ deserves a chance to meet Mother, you did waste an awful lot of petrol on him."

Both men seemed to silently deliberate, Chase closed his eyes, waiting for the knife -but it didn't come- instead he felt the seemingly unhealthy middle aged man grab him with his meaty paws and heft him out of the car, carrying the stunned boy like a rag doll towards the blue Ute, which he was shoved into the backseat of.

* * *

There was a woman on the other side of the backseat, frail and with the air of once being very beautiful. Her blond hair hung lifelessly, her skin sagged and her eyes squinted across at the sudden figure shoved into the car beside her, disrupting her from her nap.

But instead of getting mad, like Chase expected, her eyes racked over him once, before she leant forward and cupped his cheek in her hand, smiling, "Conner?"

Chase's mind tried to work out whether it was a trick question or not, so he remained silent. He tilted his head slightly into her grip, listened to her slight intake of breath- he had pleased her. All the while he held his attempt at a loving face, like Mother was shooting him, his mind was racing with ways to escape.

"Oh, you will do lovely, my beautiful boy. Tell me, are you clever? Tell Mother how smart you are."

Chase bit his lip, wondering how to go about speaking, he chose to be safe and whispered back in a mimic of her slight southern twang, "Very. I'm top of my classes."

She closed her eyes, leaning her head back, "And your name, tell Mother your name."

He didn't think, "Cha-" he was slapped across the face before he could get any further. The force was stronger than he thought, his face swinging around to the opposite side and his eyes automatically watering under impact.

"No!" She screeched at him, her voice dropping until it sent a visible chill down Chase's spine. "Don't tell lies to your mother!"

"S-sorry," he took a deep breath, using the worlds smartest brain for what felt like the first time since the debate all that time ago, "Mother, my na-name is Conner, I'm s-sorry for...for the lie."

It was a gamble but, "I missed you."

Mother suddenly pulled Chase forward and crushed his head against her chest, wrapping her arms around his back and kissing the top of his head, "Oh, Baby, how Mother has missed you too. Father and I have been searching for you for the longest time."

"I've been looking for you both too," Chase murmured, in an attempt at both a physically and emotionally tired boy.

The woman squeezed back tightly, "Tired, Son-of-mine? Mother is here, you can sleep, Mother is here," she repeated that as if it were supposed to lull Chase into some sense of security and warmth.

He waited for her grip to loosen, for her hand to stop stroking his hair so intently, until it turned into an absentminded thought and she too showed the signs of falling tired. Except one of them was faking, but then again he hadn't gotten out that much truth the entire time he was locked in the car with this woman.

Suddenly the situation looked very promising indeed.

* * *

Donald could barely contain the hysteric laugh of utter relief when a shrill beeping rang out from the laptop before him, "Took him long enough."

Bree sung out with glee when a new message appeared behind her eyes, before putting in that extra burst of speed.

Adam almost fell off the couch when his message came in, where he had been reading up on...oh who was he kidding...he had been panicking about his brother and thinking about all of the things he could have done to prevent Chase being an idiot and getting into a car with a stranger.

Eddy cursed when the coordinates of the youngest Davenport finally came in, but internally he smiled.

Leo heard the ruckus and shared an elated hug with his mother, who was already crying tears of joy, "Mum, save the waterworks until after he's home."

Spike smiled crookedly, cracked his knuckles and raised his fists in preparation- he was looking forward to this.

* * *

**Sorry, I know, you must all be thinking 'what! Where's the ending :O' but (even though you guys might not like this) since I have a sucky computer at the moment that kept lagging throughout that entire writing process...I decided that instead of pulling an all nighter to finish a questionably good chapter (especially around 4am, where I go slightly loopy) I would add another part to it [make it a three shot] yeah...)**

**Don't worry, it's nowhere near done (there's still more stuff to write out, like how Chase got back in contact with everyone, what happened? What were the repercussions? Family ending fluff etc.)**

******Sorry for any major errors (I know that there's generally always a small handful of grammatical or spelling errors in the other chapters, but this one probably has more [no matter how many times my early morning brain looks over it to proof read]).**

**Other than that, what did you think? What do you think about 'THE FAMILY'?**

**So, I was actually TOTALLY considering sticking Douglas in it, but then some of you brought up some very interesting points and I decided, 'why not play this completely left field (or whatever the expression is) and make this not about Donald, Douglas and inventions etc. but about Chase?' So I did.  
Basically, as I'll probably explain next chapter and you can sort of pick up this chapter, there's this family (TOTAL CRAZIES) and they lost their son/brother, Conner. 'Mother' the mum, flipped out and so the family have been scowering around looking for a replacement son. Obviously they know it's not Conner, but Mother doesn't, and their aim is to please her. If Mother doesn't like the kid (or they agree not to show the kid to her in the first place)...well you can guess what happens...if Mother likes them...well you'll see...**

**Anyways, thank you all SO SO much for your lovely reviews...hopefully I can fix up my computer, finish off this story arc and move on to some really fluffy stuff for a while.**

**YOU'RE ALL LIKE RAINBOWS AND SUNSHINE AND LOLLYPOPS (unless you don't like lollypops, then you can insert something else nice)!**

**Catch ya tomorrow, bye!**


	22. The Escape Plan (Abducted 3)

**Hi everyone!**

**OMG 230 reviews? You guys are I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! WOW, WOW WOW!I was squealing and jumping and ahhh, thank you so much! I literally could not stop smiling all day :D  
**

**I don't own Lab Rats**

**(This is the final part of the abduction story) it goes before end of last chapter, basically from where we left off with Chase (in the Ute with Mother).  
**

**Yeah, it's really Chase centric until the end where everyone else comes in :)**

**WARNING: Same warning as last time, kidnapping, violence, abuse, dark, creepy etc. **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Mother had her Conner back. Her perfect, darling baby was home again. He was her little epitome of brilliance, her unmarred creation who had remained so innocent and pure against the depravity that was reality.

"Oh Son-of-mine, Mother's got you, Mother will protect you, Mother loves you," she cooed down at him, running her fingers through his matted hair –just the way she knew he liked it.

She could see his eyes practically sewn shut by sleep, and he could hear the air escape from between the tiny gap in his mouth, feel the heartbeat thudding against her from his fragile chest. Asleep, dead to the world, she could feel the unquestionable childlike trust he held in her, the utter naivety and obtuseness of the world radiating off of her child.

Mother thought about how unsafe the world was for her precious son, without realising it she had dug her nails into her baby's shoulder, drawing lines of blood with her pointed nails, and pinpricking dots of red throughout his hair. Conner's moan made her realise her error. Pain came from everyone, even the ones who loved him the most, and she _loved_ him. Her pricelessly treasured child.

He was too untainted, too innocent, that was why she needed to save him –like last time- she needed to protect her Conner. Mother knew what she was doing, Mother knows best.

* * *

It didn't take very long for Mother to fall asleep, the real wait for the bionic was the delay between her light sleep and its transition into deep enough sleep that any sudden movements wouldn't wake her. The doors of the Ute were not unlike the car he had travelled in before, there was no way out from the inside, but Chase already knew that, so it didn't matter. His plan would still work.

Now Chase wasn't about to anything stupid. He could hear the remaining three members of the family, if they were blood related or not, outside listening intently for anything that could possibly require their intervention.

So he quietly scooted out of Mother's claw like grasp, removing her hand from his tangled hair, and felt around for the appropriate pressure point to knock her out. Through his extensive knowledge of martial arts, via both training and researching, he was fairly confident that she wouldn't die- but there was always a risk when attacking pressure points.

The youngest Davenport then rearranged her slumped body in a more comfortable position and lifted her arm over his shoulder. He lay back down and faux slept once more, waiting once more.

After ten minutes he could hear their hushed whisperings outside.

"Sister dear, perhaps Mother has already killed him," his voice had definitely changed from the car ride, it was more formal and sinister, laced with velvet it sent Chase's skin crawling. He could still hear the faint traces of 'Josh's' dulcet tones.

"But Brother mine, he held such a likeness."

"They've been in there for quite a while though," he argued.

Father came in, "Nolan is right. Violetta, you are small and slight, why don't you sneak up to the window and take a peak –careful now, we don't want to upset Mother."

There was an affirming hum from the little girl, Chase couldn't contain his grin as his ears picked up her tiptoed path up to the Ute window. Her footsteps paused for a moment, there was a slight shuffle and then the sound of her footfalls retreating.

"Father, they are asleep."

"Asleep," Josh – or Nolan– murmured lowly, sounding like Chase often did when he was deep in thought.

Now was the crunch time, the moment where Chase found out whether he had been correct in his inference, the one where he deduced that the family was like Spike, strategic and opportunists. They killed, little clues led the bionic to believe that to be true, and they had no qualms with stealing boys off of the street.

"Perfect," Father sung, "Nolan, make that little red car disappear, then come back. This is the perfect opportunity for a little…..family road trip, don't you say?"

"Perfect Daddy, as always," Violetta clapped her hands and skipped towards the Ute.

Chase turned his face towards the trailer, the last thing he needed was one small mistake and they would know he was awake –so hiding his face seemed like the best thing to do.

Violetta clambered into the front seat, he could hear her slam the door shut. However it only took a moment before Chase could feel her turning around and leaning into the backseat, tiny vibrations and slight scuffling sounds indicated that she was searching the floor for something.

"Can you please lift your foot? It's on my colouring book."

Chase almost blanked, but remained motionless, knowing that this could be a trick question. Regardless off the paper he could feel under his left runner.

"I know you're awake. You're sleeping too _peacefully _and _perfectly _for someone whose been abducted," he could practically hear her smirk, riddled throughout her high pitched tone. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

Chase wordlessly lifted his foot up, feeling the angelic looking child snatch something up from the carpet.

"So is this part of your escape plan?" She continued conversationally, "We've had a lot of those. Is she unconscious?" Violetta sounded almost excited.

"Yes," he breathed, barely brushing the volume needed for a whisper.

"Impressive. Can I come with you?"

Chase turned his head around and took a moment to regard the dark haired child gazing at him with such large eyes lit perfectly by the faint moonlight. The teenager would have said something to her, but two sets of footsteps could be heard coming towards the car.

"Quickly, pretend to be asleep, Father and Brother are coming. Be very still, Nolan will check."

Chase had already turned around and resumed 'sleeping'. Nolan opened the door beside him and slid into the seat, pushing Chase roughly out of the way to gain more space.

"He could be dead, you know, he's not moving," the older man quipped.

Father opened the driver's door, "Now Son-of-mine, behave. We may finally have one Mother accepts."

"That's what you said last time."

The car was started wordlessly.

* * *

He couldn't really tell when, but somewhere along the line, pretending to be asleep had legitimately lowered his heart rate due to his regulated breaths. It, along with his plan, calmed him.

Chase remembered a long time ago, back before he'd even though about leaving the lab, Mr Davenport take him to the side and give him one of his rare 'pep talks' that actually contained proper advice.

"_Your brain is your strongest ally, Chasey. No matter what happens, the moment you stop using your head, you lose. But oh, little man, don't worry, if you listen to logic you will always be on the winning side."_

Chase was listening to logic, using his head and trying to keep his cool. There seemed to be another flip moment, between hopelessness and detachment. Initially that hadn't felt like the best change over, but reflecting, it probably helped keep him alive. Sure he was in a car now –and could die at any time- but it seemed more like a movie he was watching or a scenario he was acting out, not real. It kept his stress down and helped his use his head more when he didn't associate a mistake with his ultimate demise.

"_Come on, Chase, you've got this –timing is key."_

Perfect, everything was set. Hopefully the largest variable in his escape plan came to fruition and his theory was correct.

Nolan had long since stopped trying to trick Chase out of his faux slumber, finally convincing himself that the boy he had abducted was asleep.

"I did very well Father, did I not."

"You did, Father is very proud of you and Mother will be incredibly thankful-"

"But Daddy," Violetta cut in, "shouldn't we wait until we get home, we thought Mother liked the other one, but then she killed him anyways."

"Not to worry, Sister dear, this one won't be missed. I barely saw his family and am yet to pick up any breaking news stories about missing children."

"Don't you have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person?" Violetta questioned.

"No, I've seen some up within hours, that weepy boy from up North had a breaking news story up within two hours," Father responded.

While the family talked about previous victims, Chase felt the static spiking at the back of his neck settle until he knew he was ready.

* * *

It was show time. Chase pretended to groggily open his eyes when the car showed signs of slowing and could see traces of light through his lashes.

"Mother?" he whispered out in a hoarse voice, rubbing his eyes and pushing off of the woman steadily breathing in her unconscious state.

"He's awake," Nolan stated obviously, but using a crisp and authoritarian tone to make it sound like he'd just announced the cure to some rare disease, his words were so important.

Chase could feel an arm attempt to grab him and restrain him, but he continued playing the part of the sleepy teen and instead yawned, lowered his head back down and subtly shifted over the woman he knew would make no objections. Once he was safely on Mother's other side he lay his head back down on her shoulder.

"Father."

"Leave him, Brother-of-mine, he's not going to try anything –I highly doubt he even knows what's going on."

"Daughter darling, how smart you are," Father praised his little girl, before hardening his voice, "leave the boy."

Nolan seemed agitated, but didn't move. Chase's plan was going wonderfully.  
His theory reigned true as well, the calmer Chase got, the quieter the static in him mind became, soon his thoughts were down to a level where he could solely focus on the door beside him. He began to visualise it snapping over, nothing happened for a moment, and then it did.

It all occurred in mere seconds, the door almost flying off of its hinges by some unforseen force. Chase opened his eyes and paused for a moment, Father immediately slowed the car down due to the sudden bang of the door.

The youngest Davenport made to jump out of the car, but Nolan managed to grab onto his top, yanking him backwards with almost inhumane strength, Adam strength, wrapping his fingers through Chase's hair and pulling back to keep him in the car.

"Hmm, strategic," Father mused, almost as if he didn't take into account the fact their captive and his son were grappling by an open door, in a speeding car, over his unconscious wife (because she couldn't possibly be sleeping with two boys inadvertently shaking her so violently).

Adrenaline and logic, unfortunately for Nolan, is the unbeatable tag team. Chase both pulled forward forcefully, thrashed, turned around, punched his abductor squarely over the eye and rolled out of the car.

It took a flash of a moment for the adrenaline to work in a different way from the panic that had taken over his system before. Instead of overriding, the adrenaline aided in sending off his previous 'error' messages, give him his exact GPS coordinates and….

**Commando App: ACTIVATED**

* * *

Spike had been waiting, pacing around inside Chase's mind, like it was the prison cell he'd never envisioned it as before. He could see everything out of his counterpart's eyes, and do nothing to stop the taunting Nolan in both car ride experiences, the casual abuse or the wayward thoughts of complete and utter hopelessness. He tried to tell him to calm down, attempted to fill his mind with as much positivity as Spike could actually handle. Even more than Spike could handle. But it was all useless.

Now he could do something, now he could do his job and protect the only person in the universe Spike actually cared about. His little brother needed him, he wasn't there, but he was now and he wasn't even thinking about anything beyond red hot rage and revenge.

He was happy when Nolan jumped out of the car after him, ecstatic even.

"So you want to play a real game, little boy? Come over here, let's have some fun."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Mummy's boy," Spike leered, clenching his fingers and jumping on his toes in anticipation.

Nolan halted, uncertain for a single fraction of an instant. Chase was supposed to be weak, since when did he look so battle ready and blood thirsty? Since when did his voice drop so low and sound so gravely?

That was more than enough time for Spike to act.

* * *

After Nolan had been taken care of, tied to a speed limit sign with his own belt. Blood nose, covered in dirt and sporting a swollen eye (even though technically Chase was the only one who could take credit for the eye) Nolan looked fairly pathetic.

"Have fun," Spike jeered to the boy shooting him a murderous look. Judging by the course, Father would be there soon to help him out- but by then everything would be sorted. Spike typed out a new message to Bree, before turning around and pointing Chase in the right direction, walking far enough away from Nolan that he wouldn't see the transition.

**Commando App: DEACTIVATED **

It took a moment for the daze of having Spike take full control of his body wear off and disappear- but when it did, Chase took off sprinting towards the house light he could see in the distance.

He had no clue what happened once he got out of the car, Nolan and Father could be patrolling the area right now, and he'd never know.

It seemed like he was sprinting in slow motion, but when he finally reached the house, up the driveway onto the farm properties veranda, where he began banging on the door like his life depended on it- even though now he had his bionics back to help him out.

An elderly woman in her dresser opened the door cautiously, before seeing who was there. Obviously Chase couldn't see what he looked like, but he could imagine. Bruised nose with dried blood caking it, ripped and dishevelled hair, bloody fist, bloody shoulder and with a few lines of red trickling from somewhere behind his hairline. He was probably pale, and wild looking.

"My goodness, what on Ear-"

"Please, you've got to let me in, I don't know where they are but they could be coming, I just wanted a lift home. Why didn't my dad say anything? Please, help me, _please_," he was speaking almost as fast as Bree, waving his arms about like a madman, but she opened the door regardless and hurriedly invited him inside.

"Come in, come in, it's alright. Tell me what happened, that's a boy-"

* * *

Bree had sprinted up fifteen minutes later, in her hand she clutched a car battery of all things.

"_You told me to take it and call the police to the location_," she had tried, but Chase just gave her a funny look. He'd remember that, he was sure.

Well technically the first she did was hug him, inspect his face, hug him again, call him an idiot and _then_ bring up her argument about the battery.

They both thanked the old lady for sheltering Chase, gave her contact details and left the bewildered woman before she had a chance to say anything. Such as, what about the abductors? Where are the police? It's three in the morning and you just told me you lived in Mission Creek, hours and hours away, how do you plan on getting home? Do you honestly expect me to let you leave without talking to an adult? But oh well, she could tell that this wasn't over by a long shot. Either that or she was having a very interesting dream, especially when she saw the girl grab onto her brother and the two practically vanish into the early morning.

* * *

Donald didn't even try to act like anything but a concerned and relieved, overemotional and overstressed parent when his youngest came barrelling through the door with his elder sister clutching his arm.

"Chase!" Leo bellowed, but was held back by Tasha when he went to go hug his step-brother. Not like any of the Davenports noticed. Bree was already recounting her run, standing virtually on top of Chase, who was alternating between clutching Donald and being smothered by Adam.

They all wore the same identical grins of relief and something else….something deeper. Eddy even sounded happy, as he attempted to talk over everyone about his contribution in bringing Chase home safe.

"Mum?" Leo questioned.

"Let them have a moment, Sweetie."

It was one of the few times since he and his mum had moved in here, that he actually remembered that even though they'd lived here for a while, they hadn't lived here _forever_. There was always going to be a slight divide between the Davenport's and Dooley's, no matter what, because there will always be those missing years. For once in a long time, Leo and Tasha were the outsiders again.

But they were okay with that, because they could see that Chase needed a moment with the family he grew up with, and not his new family –at least not yet.

Finally Donald seemed to be reprimanding his son, Adam was nodding along, Bree was elbowing him and Chase was rolling his eyes. He stepped away from them and went over to Tasha and Leo.

"Hi guys," he stated, with a slightly hoarse voice, before opening his arms awkwardly.

Leo immediately went in for the 'bro hug', noting how scared he had been when he felt the waves of relief flow down his back when his brother was finally home.

"Ohhh," was all Tasha could say as she took her turn with Chase, clutching his face, inspecting his injures and clutching him to her while she cried tears of sweet relief and joy.

* * *

Violetta sat in one of the police cars, the officers had just gotten out of the car to converse with the other ones in the area. Never in her life had she seen the police swarm so quickly (she was later informed that this was because never had a billionaire's daughter called and demanded immediate response).

She never took Chase to be a rich kid, but that was neither here nor there.

From the window she could see Father and Brother, they both had been handcuffed and looked completely livid. Mother had escaped, Violetta had watched her wake up, cry and curse the sky for the loss of her son before looking around groggily for the rest of her family.

Violetta had hidden from Mother, it was the most conflicting thing she had ever done, but within minutes Mother had run off. Father had gone off to find Nolan, but then the girl who materialised out of thin air appeared, asked her what her name was, told her to flag down the police when they came and stole the car battery before disappearing.

She would have thought she made it up…..until Father came back with Nolan and tried to start the car. Her darling brother insisted on hunting down Chase, because _nobody_ should dare punch Nolan in the face, let alone tie him to a pole, and get away with it.

But the police had appeared, one officer called her a very brave girl and escorted her to the police car, ignoring her brother and father's sudden frantic rants and screeched,

"Not her, leave my sister _alone_!"  
"Daughter-of-mine, Daughter-of mine!"

There was going to be an official court investigation, Violetta wasn't quite sure what was going to happen to her, but she'd been assured that she would never see her family again- and that was the best news she had ever had the pleasure of hearing.

* * *

"So I figured out that the only way of getting out of the car was to have everyone in it, so I knocked out Mother and pretended to be asleep. Then when I saw lights I 'woke up' climbed over mother to get close to the door- because I knew there was no way Nolan or Father would let me be next to a door initially- and used my Molecular Kinesis to bust it open. Child's play, really. I knew that I couldn't hang around, so I went to that lady's house and hid out until Bree came, I don't know, I just didn't want to hurt them…..After everything I didn't want a massive fight," Spike concluded.

"Well," Donald sighed, placing his arms around his youngest shoulders, "you, Chase Davenport, are without a doubt, the biggest idiot on the planet."

"I can't believe you got abducted and came home in less than 24 hours," Bree added.

Adam nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

"So do we know what 'Mother's' deal was?" Leo asked, trying to make a joke out of the name Mother, but receiving a death glare from Chase, that immediately caused Bree and Adam to do the same.

"Funny that you mention that Leo, I did a little research and found out that-"

"Mother's Ultimate Clean-up: Son Drown In Family Pool," Tasha interrupts, reading the article that she had pulled up after the first time Chase told his tale. She didn't want to listen to her husband go through all of his methods of collecting research, tied together with how amazing a researcher he was, when she could just explain it.

"What?" Leo asks.

"Basically, from what I've read, allegedly this woman was a very sick in the head and decided that her son was too good for such a terrible world as this, so she killed him. The eldest saw, it was said that this psychologically scared him, but he refused to testify against his mother. This 'Father' is also mentioned, they say that Mother used to abuse him, causing him to do anything to keep her temper from the children. But there wasn't any evidence so she was let off."

"_You'd even kill other children yourself or condemn them to death because your wife couldn't come to terms with the fact she killed her own son?_" It didn't take very long for Chase to fill in the remaining pieces, _"or that, you know, you decided you couldn't leave her?"_

It almost made Chase feel queasy that even if he stayed and played it out, Mother would have killed him regardless of whether she believed he was her son or not.

Adam saw this and squeezed his brother's shoulder.

"To think of all of those deaths…." Chase murmured, "It could have been me."

"No, Chase," Mr Davenport tried.

"I could have just as easily have died, be it before I saw mother or after, it was just dumb luck that my plan worked and my bionics came back when I settled down."

"Well, obviously you're not dead, so you don't really need to worry about it," Bree sighed with a smile.

"If I didn't have bionics I would be."

"If you didn't have your bionics you would know not to get into cars with strangers," Tasha effectively ended that depressive and repetitive conversation.

"I can't believe I never taught you guys that," Donald laughed slightly before moaning into his hands.

"We can always start now?" Adam suggested.

"Oohh, I got one!" Leo raised his hand in the air, before Adam nodded at him, like a teacher would a student with an answer, "don't pull a funny face, because if the wind blows the wrong way, it could get stuck like that."

"It all makes sense now," Adam had his epifocal moment.

"Technically wind isn't strong enough to freeze a face…."

"Technically, you should shut up, Chase!" Adam shushed his brother, "I'm trying to listen, go on Leo."

"Ummm, don't take and sweets from strangers," Leo continued.

"Or get in their cars!" Bree interjected.

"I thought I knew him, okay?"

"Sure you did, I totally believe you," she caustically retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Always say 'please' and 'thank you'," Tasha moved the conversation along before an argument broke out, "and always look both ways before crossing the street."

"If the landline ever rings, I'm not home," Donald added, stretching and feeling around on the couch for the remote.

"Donald!" Tasha reprimanded, only to receive a shrug of indifference from her husband, before he finally waved his hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine," he sighed, "Don't take your money out in public."

"Stop, drop and roll, baby!" Eddy cried out in the background.

"_Great now Eddy's getting involved."_

"**Haha, sucks to be you, enjoy learning your life lessons mucus muncher!" **

"_Enjoy learning…..YOUR FACE!"_

But Spike had either already left, or decided not to dignify that with an answer.

Chase settled back down into the conversation, where he had the weirdest rules thrown at him, seriously –don't go outside after dark? Lock your doors when home alone? - They were just plain strange. Why would you lock all of the doors in your house? You wouldn't be able to get anywhere!

But he supposed it was fun, besides, he never wanted a repeat experience because he didn't know some rule that apparently all parents teach their kids. Bree elbowed and pointed at Adam, who was attentively taking notes, the two laughed quietly at his focused expression –before he looked across, noticed his siblings staring at him, stuck out his tongue and turned away- now then they started actually laughing.

* * *

Mother had had her Conner back. Her real baby. Not one of those countless others who pretended to be her son. Liars, filthy little manipulators they all were –and as a mother herself, she knew that all naughty children needed to be punished. They'd been handled, she often left the punishment to Father or Nolan, but on special occasions she'd handle it –like with that last little pretender- and she made sure that they could never use their vile tongue again to spin any more webs of deceit.

But he was gone, she was going to save him and he was stolen from her grasp. But she'd get him back, she will.

* * *

**Okay, so what did you think? So it didn't really end up going like the Bathurst story very much at all...but anways. It sort of showed how Chase got up to saving himself (I made sure to give him a shining moment or two without Spike or anyone).  
**

**Oh, I was never going to get Spike to seriously hurt Nolan (even though I wanted to) I'm like 'no, this is supposed to be fluffy one-shots and short story arcs...I'm already doing non fluff!'  
So I left it so he would ultimately be saved and then arrested.  
**

**Mother killed Conner, couldn't live with it, so she got really mad at Nolan and Violetta, so Father came and tried to protect them by bringing in someone to pretend to be Conner...but then it sort of didn't work and escalated. By the end of it they found it all normal and were detached from what they were doing. Nolan used to be a normal kid, but he went slightly off when he saw his mum kill his brother.**

**That's what she'd do, she'd kill them if they weren't Conner, but if they were she'd...still kill them because she was trying to save him from the world.**

**Ummm, review any of the questions you have, because I know it gets sorta confusing at times.**

**Actually, on the topic of reviews...THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU INCREDIBLE PEOPLE! Honestly, you guys are literally amazing, SUPERB, DEVINE, FANTASTIC!**

**Catch you tomorrow (with a lot of fluff!)? Bye!**


	23. 21st Century Camping

**Hi everyone!**

**Thank you all, you BEAUTIFUL, SUPERB, TERRIFICALLY RADIANT beings! Your reviews all had me squealing and smiling and just...WOW!**

**_My Review Responses (Basically all of the reviewers from last chapter +1 other):  
_**

Unknown:** thank you, seriously, your review was so in depth and incredibly sweet and just WOW...It really gave me some warm happy feelings. You've got no idea how much your review brightened my day :D  
**SkyDuck**: I noticed you appear a day or two ago, hi! Thank you for your reviews, they make really make me smile (And I love the way 'duck' keeps appearing, I love ducks :D )  
**HowtoRiseBigTime:** Thank you, I'm glad I wrote 'quite a story' ;) You're consistant reviews always give me a massive grin -just thought you should know. You're awesome :)  
**Avengers13**: I love how you write your reviews, like you really use letters to express stuff -such as when you drag out letters- I can always imagine a little voice in my head saying your reviews when I read them. Your consistancy is lovely and your reviews never fail to make me smile. Thank you.  
**beverlie4055:** Your constant 'loves it' for every chapter really help make my day, thank you :)  
**LoveShipper**: Thank you, it's really nice to know what people think -and you usually always find a way of doing that in your reviews. Your reviews make happy and smiley :)  
**daphrose:** You never fail to review, do you? And when you do the depth you put in is incredible! Thank you so much, seriously. (and wow, I didn't know I was number 7, that's...WOW.) Thank you :)  
**Dirtkid123**: Hi! Oh, I wanted to leave the door open for mother to come back later on if I ever felt the urge to write her again, thank you for always reviewing. It's so lovely when people review with such sweet words, but also when they ask questions, because it gives me another reason to interact with you all :)  
**KatyLinn:**Hi, I just wanted to say the biggest thank you possible. Your review was literally the epitome of sweet and fuzzy feeling inducing. It made me feel so incredible, you have no idea. Just...THANK YOU!**  
AllAmericanSlurp:** Hi :) Yep, I'm considering bringing Mother back later on (leaving the door open just in case). Thank you for your review, seriously, it's nice to know I made a good villain and you liked the end of the trilogy. Your review really made me smile :D (like that except bigger)  
Mother's killing methods might appear if I ever write her again, but basically she'd either drown you or smother you (something 'painless') if she thought you were Conner. Because she wants to 'save him'. If not, she basically gets really mad and would just...lose it. So she might stab you repeatedly, beat you (cuz she believes in punishing kids) basically stuff that can be prolonged and is painful, with whatever is around her.**

* * *

**Anyways, I don't own lab rats.**

**This chapter is the one some of you have suggested, it's one not from Chase's perspective but still involving Chase. It's not focused around him though, but it's fluffy, so I hope you ENJOY it!**

* * *

Mr Davenport tried to give his bionic kids the very best opportunities and experiences he could, partly due to a sense of duty he had developed after locking them in the basement for the majority of their youthful lives. Also because of the gnawing feelings of guilt he wanted to eradicate due to the aforementioned locking in the basement.

So when Bree had gushed about a school camp, Donald almost considered letting her go, until the repercussions of having the bionic away from him and any technology, in an isolated location, set in.

Her face had distorted to a look of utter disappointment, before morphing once more into an aggravated expression –until she dramatically stomped off. He wanted to give her a proper reason, the reason she deserved, but he just couldn't formulate the words, so he just told her 'no' and refused to listen to any of her reasoning's or explain his own.

"You say you want us to be like normal kids, let us try out the everyday teen life, but whenever we have a chance to –you ruin it."

Bree's words stung, but Donald had remained silent.

"I mean, I've missed dates, mall trips and socials. I've had to abandon activities and friends at the drop of a hat because of some mission that, for whatever reason, couldn't wait half an hour. It's so unfair!"

"The answer is no, Bree, that's final," He finally sighed, trying to convey how sorry he was through his eyes. But all she did was scoff, he thought she didn't understand how he had to protect them, she knew that he never listened to her. In the end they both thought they were in the right.

* * *

Bree was in a bitter mood, she was caught in one of those happy sucking dispositions, all because Mr Davenport refused to even listen to her systematically ordered points on why she should be allowed to go on camp.

It would have been today, she'd be sitting next to Caitlin on the bus and listening to the faint music the bus driver put on that nobody could really decipher over the sounds of other chattering students.

She'd eat her packed lunch that tasted terrible and felt like it had magically come into contact with water and become soggy and revolting in the few hours it had been in her backpack. But she would have still swallowed it down.

Bree slouched upstairs, putting on her best 'I hate the world and everyone in it' face and scowled her way passed Eddy into the kitchen. She had obviously refused to go to school, which Donald had agreed was fair enough, considering everyone else in her year level would be gone. Chase was staying home as well, because all of his classes were advanced so since Bree's year level was away on camp, virtually all of Chase's classmates were too –and the last thing he wanted was to be placed amongst his own year level- the immature little savages. He'd still have preferred going to school….but…..

Someone cleared their throat from behind Bree, but she refused to turn around- she was angry at the world, couldn't they see her black nail polish? Leave her alone!

But they were persistent, so Bree finally spun on her heels to scream at whoever dared talk to her when she hadn't gotten her own way. Couldn't people understand that on camp, memories are made? If you don't go on camp there will be months' worth of conversations you can't be a part of, and Bree loved being involved in conversations.

Instead of releasing her pent up wrath on the poor unfortunate soul who came within a hundred meters of her, she raised her hand to her mouth in the comical 'surprised' look and tried to take in what was before her. How could she be so unobservant?

Slowly a small little smile quirked up at the corner of her lips.

* * *

Donald had woken the boys up early that morning. Adam for his strength, Chase for his knowledge and Leo….well, Leo because if he didn't the boy would certainly have had something to say about it when he woke up and saw he had been left out.

Mr Davenport had never been camping, and it wasn't something he had ever really planned on trying out any time in the future. The entire concept never really appealed to him, he went through the awkward-child-sitting-inside-reading phase in his youth, not the outside adventure stage. Then when he was older, the idea seemed as uncharming as ever. Why sleep in a tent when you can stay in seven star hotels? If you've got money, flaunt it, nobody likes a frugal rich guy. Unintentional or not.

That was where Chase stepped in, the boy practically had Google at his fingertips, constantly ready to search up whatever was needed- including the most stereotypical campsite set up he could find within two point five seconds.

He directed Adam in setting up the camping equipment Donald had brought during some crazy time in the seventies (sure he never went camping, but that didn't mean he wasn't prepared in case he changed his mind). There had been some alterations to the original designs of a lot of things, tailoring them until they both looked brand new and had space for a few choice twenty first century commodities.

Chase had fun standing off to the side, bossing his brothers around. Leo had taken up the role as anyone's patsy –doing whatever was required of him- and he seemed pretty happy about doing it.

Donald supervised, keeping an eye on the clock so that they were all set up for when Bree woke up.  
They obviously were, but she stormed in and marched over to the fridge, where she flung the door open and proceeded to evaluate the contents of the fridge, she looked right passed them.

Mr Davenport cleared his throat to gain the middle bionic's attention. Her shoulders stiffened, but she made no attempt to turn around. He tried again, and again, until finally she spun around and showed the males of the household how scary women can be when they're in a bad mood.

Adam had even shrunken back slightly, shouldering his brother behind him just in case.

But all Bree did was raise her hand up to her mouth and process the campsite the boys had set up in the living room. They'd gotten Adam to push the couch to the side of the room, and the same with the dining room table, so they had enough space to set up the three tents in their semicircular shape, and, sleeping bags. Chase had placed a laptop in front of the middle tent, though nobody really knew why.

* * *

Bree had come across and was currently sitting between her two brothers under a shared blanket, Leo off to the side in his sleeping bag watching cartoons. Donald had gotten up to make a cup of coffee, kiss his wife good morning and offer her an explanation on why her furniture had been moved (even though Donald never remembered Tasha claiming ownership of any of his furniture until someone broke or touched it).

"I can't believe this," Bree murmured, throwing her arms around her brothers' shoulders, before adding a well-deserved, "Thank you."

"Same," Adam replied, before happily singing out a, "I'm not at school because of you."

School had been an amazingly big adventure for the Davenports, but once the novelty wore off and the homework began piling up- the only bionic who still liked school was Chase.

"Yeah, how did you manage that?" Bree laughed.

"Well, Mr Davenport told me that whether I went to school or not, my grades wouldn't really be effected. I think he was telling me that I was _that_ smart, that missing school wouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah," his siblings replied in the same overly agreeable tone, they shared a look and silently agreed that Donald certainly hadn't meant it in the way Adam was thinking.

There was a moment when the three just sat in comfortable silence. Chase had revealed the role of the computer, saved on it was a virtual fire they huddled around, even though it granted no actual warmth. They didn't talk, but sometimes words are unnecessary.

"I miss this," Bree finally whispered.

"Miss what?" Adam asked, glancing down at his little sister.

"Us, we never hang out anymore, not really. Sure we sit together and have all of our missions, but still….you know?"

Both brothers nodded.

"Hey, remember when we were kids?" Bree sighed, gazing into the flickering flames on the screen.

Chase had told her that Mr Davenport had attempted to make a three dimensional fire hologram, but had failed miserable, which was amusing considering Mr D prided himself on his amazing technological inventions and…you know…Eddy. But he couldn't even make a holographic fire (then again Bree couldn't say anything out loud, because neither could she).

"When it was all three of us in one room, only eating food pellets and having our bionics always glitching around each other. Yeah, and?" Chase replied, aloofly as he too stared at the collection of pixels on the screen.

"I was thinking more of how close we used to be. All those games we used to play-"

"Hey, we played catch yesterday!"

"That's not what I meant Adam," Bree explained, "I'm talking about when fun came before everything, when it was story books and hide and seek and tiggy."

"And hair- Mr Davenport used to have hair," Adam added, almost wistfully.

"Umm…..He still has hair now."

"That's not what I meant, Bree," Adam mocks in the same exasperated tone his sister had used on him before.

"Whatever. Anyways, sometimes I wish we could go back to that."

"To our whole world being inside four walls, to only really knowing four people and a computer, to food pellets and glitching bionics in a tight space?" Chase questioned, rephrasing his previous statement, tying it all together with an innocent face.

Bree swatted him lightly on the arm, but smiled none the less, "are you always this cynical?"

"Realistic, not cynical. And yes, it's one of my many talents," Chase rolled his eyes and ignored his siblings' suppressed snorts. The conversation continued.

"I remember. I used to lift everything up, and you used to run around the room," Adam glanced at Bree, before turning to Chase, "and you used to sit with Mr Davenport or follow one of us around, pretty much silently until you decided to laugh. You were always so happy."

"Yeah well," the youngest Davenport fidgeted in his spot, obviously wishing the attention was back on Bree, "I grew up."

"You grew?" Adam jeered, standing up to go and grab a couple of pillows from inside the tent.

"Shut up, Adam," Chase grumbled loud enough for his brother to hear.

Adam chuckled as he came back out of the tent, plopping himself down between his siblings. This causing Chase to immediately lean in the opposite direction, inching his body away.

"Aww, is our wittle Chasey-Wasey upset?" Adam mocked as he reached across to both pull on his cheek and wrap an arm around his brother's waist, hauling him back over. Chase, needless to say struggled to get out of his brother's super grip.

"Get off, Adam," the brunette moaned.

"I'm not on you," Adam taunted.

It took a moment of futile struggling before Chase gave up, crossed his arms and just glowered- eyes straight ahead. Bree smiled at her brothers' antics.

* * *

Leo came back across to find the Davenport's talking about their childhood, but they immediately changed the conversation to something that could include their newest family member.

"So, what do you think Bree?" Leo gave a sweeping motion with his arm, showing off the entire room.

"It's amazing, really."

"We'd be outside but it's raining. You're actually lucky you're not on that camp, you'd be soaking and setting up tents right about now in the middle of a muddy camping ground," Donald called across from the kitchen island, where he had been waylaid by Tasha bringing up money spending, and bills, and taxes and other completely boring things that adults needed to discuss.

"It's perfect," Bree sent a wide grin across the room to her father.

Mr Davenport smiled too, knowing that he'd done alright. It was funny how quickly Bree's mood had swung around once she saw the camp set-up, almost immediately she was back to her cheerful self.

The boys had been all too happy to help, the last thing any of them wanted was a mopey sister terrorising them with her silent scowls and energy draining presence. The only one who seemed to be slightly put off was Chase, but then again that had more to do with the fact that he wanted to be at school right now, and nothing to do with Bree and the faux camping.

"So are we sleeping here?" Leo piped.

"Ooh, I call the middle tent!" Adam cried out, raising his hand in the air like it would somehow help him gain sleeping rights to the middle green tent.

"If you want to….." Donald trailed off, wondering why anyone would _want_ to sleep in such uncomfortable little shelters in weird wrapper-like blankets.

"Yay!" Adam cheered, clapping.

"I think I'll pass," Chase murmured quietly.

"What? Chase, you_ have_ to sleep out here," Bree sighed dramatically over at her brother.

"But it looks uncomfortable….." Thank goodness Donald wasn't the only one who thought that. That's why Chase was his favourite, he and Mr Davenport were practically always on the same page.

"So?" Leo voiced what everyone else in the room was thinking.

Chase groaned, shot Mr Davenport a _'please tell me I'm not crazy for thinking that sleeping out here is a bad idea'_ look, which Donald returned with a _'what can you do?' _shrug. Chase let out a long sigh, but ultimately agreed to at least attempt to sleep somewhere in their 'camping grounds'.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Bree squealed out excitedly. The weather couldn't affect her with this type of camping, the approaching thunderstorm outside wouldn't alter any of their plans….actually, what were their plans?

"Hey guys, what are we actually doing?"

"What do you mean?" Donald replied, finally coming back across from the kitchen island and gingerly lowering himself down into a sitting position.

"Like, what are we doing?"

"How about a movie?" Leo suggested.

"I don't think people camping watch movies," Tasha called across from the island, where she sent a fond glance down at her crazy family.

"Well this is special camping, the new revolutionised twenty-first century way. We can watch a movie, if you want that is?" Mr Davenport ended it with a question, wanting to make sure that his kids actually wanted to watch a movie, especially Bree, who this was all for.

"Sounds great, Big D," Leo smiled.

Adam gave a cheerful thumbs up, while Chase simply nodded. Bree just smiled, that was her way of saying yes.

"What do you guys feel like watching?" Tasha made her way across to the TV and began flicking through the movies they had.

"You're not joining us?" Chase questioned.

"No, I've got a few errands to run, this is still a normal week –even though _some_ of us aren't going to school," Tasha sent a pointed look across at her son. Leo didn't really have an excuse for not being at school, but nobody else was there, so there was the unanimous and unquestioned decision that he should stay home regardless.

Chase nodded.

"Hey, maybe we could finish watching that movie about the voodoo wi-"

"NO!" Chase, Tasha and Donald all cried out simultaneously.

"It was just a suggestion," Adam raised his hands up in surrender, "chill. Learn to take a joke."

"Haha," Chase did not sound amused, "You're hilarious."

Adam's response was to ruffle his younger brother's hair, before quickly darting out of range of Chase's annoyed swipes.

"How about a romance?" Bree sighed out, clutching her hands to her chest as she thought about how beautiful and poetic romance movies were. All the boys immediately groaned, stating their views on the matter, but this camp was for Bree, so they all ended up watching a romance.

* * *

Somewhere along the line they ended up with a few bags of marshmallows and had great fun pretending to roast them over the fake fire. In the end, Adam zapped them with his heat vision to toast them (after sacrificing a handful of 'tester' marshmallows).

Mr Davenport was tossing food into his mouth absentmindedly while he watched the utter abomination of clichés dance across the screen in front of him. He had made sure he had the day off to spend some quality time with his kids, step son included, but right now he was regretting it.

"Isn't this-"

"The most perfectly heartbreaking thing you've ever seen?" Bree dabbed at her watery eyes, sniffing, and ultimately refusing to draw her eyes away from the screen.

"I was going to say predictable," Chase muttered, head resting on his hands with a look of utter boredom on his face.

"That movie's still going?" Adam questioned, looking up from the marshmallow castle he was making (the marshmallow tower unfortunately fell during the early stages of construction and Adam didn't feel like recreating the same type of building)."

"Well I was going to say a big waste of time and boring, but whatever you guys think," Donald finished his sentence, popping a few more marshmallows in his mouth.

There was a long -and loud- sniff from Leo. Nobody was really sure if he was crying over how terrible the movie was, or, how good and sad it was. They all decided they'd rather not know and leave him to his hide inside his blanket of tears.

* * *

"So do you think this better than your actual camp?" Donald asked Bree late at night, during the third season of some fashion show that had his only daughter captivated.

"So much," she whispered back, not wanting to wake anyone, "There's no way some school camp could ever be as cool as this."

The two looked around the camp site. Adam had collapsed on top of the middle tent, snapping a few things in the process. Leo had wrapped himself around the laptop, like it would magically warm him, with a tissue box by his head from when they had watched the second movie and his 'allergies' wouldn't stop playing up.  
(Seriously, wasn't that the oldest line in the book? Even Bree knew it, and she was still learning about the world.) Chase had curled up on the couch in the corner of the room, looking cold, but kicking off any blanket someone attempted to wrap around him.

"Thank you," she added, "Really, thank you."

"I'm sorry you couldn't go on your real camp, maybe if I could figure out a way to make sure there was zero chance of you glitching, I would have let you go. But we just can't risk it, Bree, not in front of so many people and so far away."

"I know. Yeah, I'm sorry, I knew there was a reason –I just didn't want to listen to it."

Mr Davenport pulled her into a side hug, at the same time the Monica made it through to the next round, "Damn, I wanted Felicity through," Bree cursed, "There's only one more spot left, and we all know Heather's going to get it."

The announcer on the screen congratulated Heather for making it through to the next round, "See?"

Donald laughed quietly, "Don't worry, I think this marathon has another four seasons, I'm sure you'll pick a winner from one of them."

Bree nodded, "I suppose."

"I hope you had fun today, we can keep going tomorrow if you want."

"That sounds great, though I'm not sure how much 'camping' Chase can take –he didn't seem to enjoy it that much. What did you promise him to get him to stay?"

"Huh? Nothing –this was all Chase's idea."

Bree wasn't expecting that, her younger brother had literally been looking slightly miserable all day. "What?"

"Yeah, I told him about you being upset about not being able to go on camp. He," Mr Davenport paused to chuckle slightly, "he questioned your sanity. 'Was wondering what joy you could possible get out of pitching temporary tents in some muddy clearing. I can't say I don't blame him."

Bree raised an eyebrow at her father, so he got back on topic, "But overall he suggested that we recreated the campsite somewhere inside –because he's got the weather forecast up in his head somewhere- and so I used my amazing memory and superb planning skills to turn his suggestion into a reality for you," Donald concluded.

It was funny, to know that the boy who had moaned freely about hating camping had played a far larger role in planning out said camping. It was also sweet, he didn't need to do that, could have kept his mouth shut, neither did Mr Davenport, he could have left Chase's suggestion up in the air. But they didn't, so Bree found herself giving her father and almighty hug and shooting the sleeping Chase an appreciative look.

"In the morning I'm so going to give him a hug."

"Chase doesn't like hugs, remember?"

"Does it look like I care?"

"Fair enough."

* * *

"Morning everyo-"there was an 'oof' as Chase had an extra weight on top of him, "Bree, what are you doing? Get off."

"Let me love you!"

"Did I do something wrong? MR DAVENPORT, HELP!"

"No, now be quiet and accept my hug."

"But you're seriously crushing me!"

"_What_ _did you just say?"_ There was a notable change in tone, it became deadly, seething.

"….Wow Bree, thank you for being so kind by hugging me first thing in the morning, you're so considerate," he was still at the receiving end of two narrowed eyes, "…And I'm lucky to have a sister as wonderful as you?"

It came out like a question, but she'd accept it.

"Yeah. That's what I thought you said."

* * *

**So what did you think? Personally it felt sort of weird not focusing around Chase as much (considering it's practically all I've written) but that's not to say I didn't enjoy writing this. I liked it, it was just different :)  
I've got him throughout the chapter, with sibling bonding cropping up at certain bits. It was interesting writing him as a 'side' character instead of the main character...I'm not sure how many times I'll do that...Hmm (thoughtful face).  
**

**Anyways, thank you once again for your INCREDIBLE REVIEWS!  
They just make me feel so happy and motivated and WOW!  
**

**Catch ya tomorrow, yeah? Bye!**


	24. That's Not Okay (Brotherly Pranking)

**Hi guys,**

**It's 4 16am here right now, lastest -well, earliest- I've ever posted a chapter I think. (school in 4 and a bit hours, thanks insomnia -_-)Anyways, THANK YOU all so much for your lovely reviews, they're just so motivating and sweet and full of warm and fuzzy feelings. You guys are all so AMAZING, INCREDIBLE WONDERFUL, especially if you're still here, that just pure dedication. THANK YOU!  
**

**I don't own lab rats...**

**This chapter's got Bree and Adam in it (with Chase, obviously) with Chase and Adam pranking Bree and then them thinking that...well you'll read it. It's got fluffy moments, but I'm going to aim for tomorrow to be the fluff chapter (I feel like I keep moving it to tomorrow- but seriously- I'm doing parental tomorrow cuz I've done my Bree centered (sorta) quota for a little bit.)**

**I'm doing double Bree because some of you guys wanted it, so without further ado...ENJOY!**

* * *

Adam strolled up to Chase with an air of purposefulness, and a potato taped to his head.  
Chase looked up, making eye contact with his brother who nodded in reply to the younger male's silent question. It was done.

"We're set."

"Good."

Adam was about to leave again, when Chase called him back, "Uh, Adam? Buddy, you've got a little…." Chase indicated the vegetable held securely to his brother's forehead with the ever incredible duct tape.

The oldest bionic reached up and patted his forehead until his fingers came in contact with the potato, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that."

"Do I want to know?"

Adam shrugged, "You know, Potato Wars and all of that."

Chase's face blanked, before mouthing 'potato wars?' to himself and titled his head to the side, finger up to his forehead, while he obviously searched it up. The search came up as blank, Chase acted like it didn't and Adam acted like he didn't know the search came up as blank.

"So…..Are you ready for the trifecta?"

"No. But I'm ready for the third prank!" Adam gushed enthusiastically. He and Chase had decided that they'd left Bree alone for too long and decided to show her some 'brotherly love' via the only way they really knew how.

Chase chuckled into his hand, before nodding, "Hey, do you want to know who doesn't have proper Wi-Fi right about now?"

"Who?"

"Bree….."

Adam smiled, "I see part one worked out."

Donald had grown so annoyed with Bree spending so much time and money on her phone that he took her off of her plan and made her phone prepaid. She, needless to say, ran out of credit in a few days and had resorted to religiously using the house's Wi-Fi to message her friends until the end of the month.

"I bribed Eddy to disconnect her, she told me she wasn't co dependant on her phone -I needed a science project- now I can win twenty bucks and write her freak out down for my assignment. Which I'm getting Eddy to record. It's a win-win."

Adam high-fived his brother, "Nice one, but can you beat hair dye in her shampoo?"

"I still say that that's like the oldest trick in the book, there's no way Bree'd fall for that," but Chase couldn't fight the grin playing at the corners of his mouth at the mere thought of his sister being stuck with multi-coloured hair. She'd look so ridiculous.

"Nah, she won't notice."

They were two of the trifecta pranks, even though technically they had been messing with her all day. It was funny, and it doubled as a bonding session for the two boys.

Chase indicated for Adam to come closer, "Okay, just remember, if anything happens- deny everything. Nobody can prove we did it."

There was a smiling, "Sure."

"Adam," Chase sighed, "I'm serious, last time you cracked in under a minute, we're being incognito- I mean undercover," he dumbed down his vocabulary, "this time."

"I know, I know, but last time I just panicked. She was just staring at us," Adam raised his hands up in his defence.

"Well don't, we're already committed. Just remember that number three just needs to be put in mo-" the two boys immediately jumped a part and pretended to act casual.

* * *

Bree had seen her brothers talk numerous times, but never had they suddenly gone silent when she entered the room. Both males had looked up at her in unison and had immediately taken a step away from each other, as if the distance would make her forget that they had been neck and neck just moments before.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Chase replied almost too quickly and making more eye contact than strictly necessary. It was one of the two things he did when he lied, too much eye contact and too fast in his replies, the other was the nose twitch- but that's another story.

Adam looked like he was about to say something, but he held his tongue after Chase shot him an almost _warning _look. Since when did Chase ever look at Adam like that?

"Adam?" Bree tried, keeping her voice quiet and tone gentle, as if to lull him into a false sense of security before she extracted the information she was now very keen on having.

The oldest bionic seemed to have a moment of internal debate before he shook his head once, and looked down.

Wow, okay then, silence. That was all they were giving her, like she'd accept nothing as an answer when she walked into such a serious conversation. They didn't even bother giving her a half decent excuse, so she naturally became both suspicious and hurt.

Her own brothers were keeping something from her, that much was becoming more and more blatantly clear as the seconds of silence ticked passed, Chase not looking away from her and Adam looking at anything but.

Bree put her hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow in a way she knew scared the pants off of anyone and everyone. All she had done was make her brothers a couple of sandwiches -which she would later deny ever doing, because she was a feminist at heart- while the internet on her phone was playing up. She'd just come downstairs to collect them for lunch….. But now…..

"Want to tell me what's going on?"

"No!" Chase attempted.

"Yes," Adam supplied at the same time, which made Chase immediately whip his head around to look up at his older brother, raising his hands up in the way that screamed _'duuuddeee!'_

"Care to elaborate?" Bree drawled.

Adam stayed silent, looking across at Chase while he shook his head.

Bree looked between her two brothers before turning on her heels and making to leave in a dramatic huff. Unbelievable, could her day get any worse? Her internet wasn't working, no matter how much she begged Eddy to at least take a look at it, she'd looked everywhere for her favourite jumper, only to find it in the freezer and now her brothers were either plotting something or talking about her. The sugar for her tea ended up being salt, the remote was jammed so the TV was stuck on some sports channel and she couldn't find a single hair tie anywhere- and she really needed one.

"No, wait Bree," Chase tried, but when she spun around he didn't supply any further explanation.

"You know, all I did was ask you a simple question. Did I do something wrong? Is there something else you want to tell me, some other way I might have hurt your feelings? Because you know the best way to fix a problem with another person is to tell it to their face, not say it behind their back," rather proud on leaving on that note, the middle bionic made her way over to the elevator.

"You don't understand….." Chase tried, but Bree was already inside the elevator.

She watched her little brother seem to fight in some internal debate, swaying on the spot as if he watched to reach out to her, but something was holding him back. Bree wanted to keep eye contact with him until the doors closed….whenever they got around to closing.

"Seriously?" She muttered after fifteen seconds of just standing in the lift, doors still wide open.

Sometimes it felt like time was moving too slowly for her, but right now seemed to actually feel like it was taking a while.

"Oh no, Sunshine, you're my entertainment," Came Eddy's disembodied voice.

"Eddy! Stop messing around and let me up!" Bree re-hit the up button in the lift.

"Here, I'll fix it," Adam jogged over to one of the nearby control boxes. Where he proceeded to stick his hand in and retract it, only to proudly show a clump of wires in his hand, as if he was oblivious to the intermittent jolts of electricity working their ways out of the detached cables and shocking his hand.

Everyone paused.

"Why did you do that?" Chase all but screamed out in exasperation, striding across to Adam and snatching the wires out of his hand, "You do realise that we can't leave now. Not until Mr Davenport comes home or I fix these, and who knows how long that's going to take."

Adam shrugged his shoulders, not concerned in the slightest.

"You mean I'm stuck in here with the two of you? Oh joy!" Bree cried out in false enthusiasm, taking a step out of the now useless elevator and going over to where her capsule was, until she realised that the door wouldn't open.

"My capsule's locked!"

"Well yeah, it seems that Adam decided to rip out not only the elevator, but completely destroy the wires that work for carrying messages between different areas of the room, possibly the whole house," Chase responded, taking a look at the wires in his hand.

"So nothing in here works?"

"Unless it wasn't connected to the main frame, like the lights, then yeah –nothing works," Chase hummed in reply as he stuck his head under the control panel to see the real extent of his older brother's damage.

"That's stupid, why would Mr Davenport connect everything together inside such a tiny little control box?" Bree sounded just as annoyed as she felt. Seriously, she went through all that effort for a dramatic exit and she got _nothing._

"Because it's a tiny little control box. Nobody would think that it would manage something so big, so it's the perfect place to have them, and by connecting everything by wires it gets rid of the need for wireless, which creates a less likely risk of everything being hacked if it's all connected on location."

This obviously set Bree off on an angry tirade where her mouth was moving so fast that nobody could quite pick up what she was saying.

"It's not so bad," Adam murmured in defence, well at least in defence for what he thought Bree was going on about.

This at least stopped the female from continuing on with her rant, she made eye contact with her older brother, "Are you _kidding me_? We're trapped!"

"…..It's not that different than before Leo came…."

"Adam's got a poi-"

"You just keep working," Bree snapped at her brother.

She then huffed and turned around to face the wall furthest away from her two brothers, taking a seat and trying to get a bar of Wi-Fi on her phone, but she just couldn't connect. And using the emergency call button doesn't work if you can't get any bars…..why did Mr Davenport have to have a house with such thick ceilings?

* * *

They'd been down there for at least an hour. Bree's phone had long since run out of battery from her frequent time and Wi-Fi checks, especially since it was low on battery in the first place.

Adam was over by Chase, who was fiddling around with the wires, occasionally referring to the instruction manual open by his side. They were all silent though, Adam because he'd already been told to shut up by Chase, Chase because he was concentrating and Bree because she didn't really know what to say.

She'd reacted in the heat of the moment and placed herself in a position where she had screamed at her brothers and cut herself off from them. After considering the pros and cons she slowly stood up and made her way over to her brothers.

It wasn't like they'd actually done anything wrong.

* * *

Chase and Adam guiltily sat by one another. Well, Chase was doing that, attempting to fix the control box and curse himself for removing Bree's Wi-Fi, because now they had no way of contacting the above world. Adam was thinking about how miserable his sister looked and how fun it was to make animal noises. Until Chase told him to shut up.

"Can't we just call Eddy?" Adam questioned after a moment.

"No, these wires here," Chase pointed at a thick pair of blue cords, "were the ones that powered Eddy's lab screen. He's around, but he doesn't have any control down here."

"Oh."

They were back to sitting in silence, thinking about how a mere hour ago they were planning to complete their pranking trifecta. Now they were stuck in a room with their prank victim.

Bree was in a bad mood, obviously, and she looked dishevelled and tired. This was the park of the pranks that they didn't see, the after effects, and they didn't like it very much at all. It made them….especially Adam…..question whether what they did was harmless fun or taking things a step too far.

Adam may have been questioning their actions more, but Chase was certainly feeling more guilt. Why did he have to be so upstanding? If he were like Spike he wouldn't care and could happily continue fixing the wires without having such a heavy weight resting inside his chest.

* * *

It was the first signs of real movement Chase had seen from the corner where Bree had been sitting for the past sixty-seven minutes. She was standing up and almost tentatively tiptoeing over.

"….How's it going?"

"It wasn't a clean break for a lot of the wires, I've tried just fixing the elevator and attempted to patch through the signals a different way, but I can't. We'll just have to wait for Mr Davenport."

"He's gone all day, right?" Adam questioned.

"Yeah," Bree supplied in a dejected tone, "He went into Davenport Industries for a board meeting, which usually takes all day, Leo went over to that kid- Harrison's- house, and I think he's staying there for dinner, and Tasha is filming some story about ducklings."

"Duckies? Aww," Adam cooed.

At the same time as Adam cooed, Chase paused, then quietly asked, "….Harrison Mayer-Layton?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

The youngest bionic seemed to zone out for a moment, before he shakily put the wires down, "You could say that we knew each other."

He could see how his brother and sister immediately picked up on who Harrison must be, in a display of uncharacteristic smarts- but then again, his siblings never ceased to amaze him when it came to the depths of their intelligence. He watched as Adam's face hardened and his stance shifted from his lazy slouch to a tall, almost soldier like position. Bree bit her lip, guiltily, cursing herself for bringing it up.

"Chemistry pal or…?"

"No."

"Then who?" Adam questioned, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down at his little brother.

Chase couldn't believe this, he shot his older brother another wide eyed stare, but all he got back was a raised eyebrow and a, "Well?"

Finally, "….Jock."

"What, why's Leo at a Jock's house?"

"Apparently they had some project together," Bree murmured.

"How does Leo always get partnered up with my, you know….."

"Dunno, just lucky I guess," Adam shrugged, he thought he remembered Harrison, he'd given that kid a black eye.

Bree bit her lip and placed a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder. Chase's elder siblings spent the next few minutes putting everything on hold to 'comfort' Chase. Even though he was technically fine after a few moments.

But having his sister be so lovely to him, made him feel guilty, because he knew what was going to happen when she went back upstairs. But it wasn't like he was about to tell her, she'd be so mad. He didn't want that!

But he'd heard her mutter something about having a terrible day, Bree was supposed to laugh at their pranks, find them amusing –but she wasn't, she hadn't and he didn't want to tell her he was responsible for her 'worst day ever'. It was conflicting. He didn't like upsetting his family, not intentionally. The logical side of his brain told him to tell, but other side was warning him to stay quiet –the younger side that hated retribution and anger, pain and violence. Sadness.

* * *

Okay, something was seriously up. Adam and Chase kept shooting her sideways looks, so she knew her hair was bad –but they'd seen worse- she knew she wasn't on her phone, but that was broken anyways. They knew she was having a bad day, she told them, and now they were treating it like it's their fault.

"What did you do?"

"Huh?" Adam stuck his head up. The three bionics now leaning against their respective capsule doors.

"Come on, I know something's up. You can tell me, there's a lot of things I'm sure it can't beat," she tried reassuring them, getting slightly excited over the idea that maybe she'll find out what's been going on with the boys.

Adam and Chase looked at each other and seemed to go through a series of silent sentences, until finally.

"Promise you won't be mad," Chase shot her a wide eyed look while biting his lip, darn he was good, which meant whatever they did had to be seriously bad. Bree gestured for them to continue.

"You know your-" Bree then started picking at an ice cream stain on her jumper (that she'd warmed up on the heater before coming down into the lab).

"What?" She noticed her brother had stopped speaking and followed Chase's gaze to the stain, "Don't worry I'm sure it'll come out, it's just ice-cream."

Bree took a closer look at Chase's face, "You didn't have something to do with this, right?"

"No." Chase shot back defensively.

"Yes," Adam replied at the same time, lowering his head like a little kid caught doing something wrong.

Finally Chase sighed, "Well, technically, yes."

"…..Go on."

"**Oh for the love of- HURRY UP AND TELL HER WOULD YOU? I swear I've been sitting here for ages and you're all getting nowhere. Is it even that much of a big deal? JEEZ! If I had my way you would have opened my trap ages ago, but NO!"**

"_Stay out of this, Spike."_

"**Actually, if I had**_** my**_** way, the school would be minus an eighth of its student population, we'd only drink lemonade and Leo would have been shipped off to Albania a **_**long **_**time ago."**

"_Just stop it. Let me handle this."_

"**What's wrong? Too chicken? Do you need your mummy to hold your hand while you tell your big sis what you did?" **Spike taunted.

"Shut up!"

"Chase?" Adam and Bree asked in unison.

"Not you, Spike."

This made Adam grin even wider, before he mouthed across, "he wants you to tell too."

Chase nodded.

"What does Spike want you to tell?"

Adam immediately turned his head away, leaving Chase with the job of telling his sister. Great, just great.

"_Thanks a lot, Adam,"_ the youngest mentally scoffed to himself, as he tried to ignore the annoyingly loud voice in his head both laughing at his situation and telling him to 'man up and tell the chick already'.

"….Stuff…." He finally murmured, eyes downcast onto the wires on the table.

"Well I love stuff," Bree laughed.

Bree waited for Chase to continue, so he did was slink over to her and lay his head down on her shoulder, nuzzling up and being as innocent and blameless and young as his dignity would let him be. Even less than it would.

Because the last thing he wanted was his sister to explode on them.

* * *

To her credit, she didn't really explode. Chase thought it went even better than he imagined.

"We did it."

"Did what?"

"Everything. The cold capsule, the missing hair ties, the no Wi-Fi, the disappearing lip gloss, the jumper in the freezer, and, the hair dye in the shampoo…..Everything."

Bree looked down at Chase, who was nervously looking back up at her face, obviously waiting for her dramatic reaction.

"And?" she gestured for her brother to continue, waiting for the bad part.

"What?" Chase scrunched up his face in obvious confusion.

"Well, obviously I knew it was you –that stuff just doesn't happen and nobody else would do it. Some of them, like the phone, I didn't know was you, but the other stuff…..obvious. I didn't know about the shampoo though…" Bree had just been waiting for the boys to admit what they'd done wrong. After her initial confrontation with the boys, and she had time to sit by herself she had a little inkling that grew and grew and grew.

She'd been mad at first, but sitting by yourself gave you a lot of time to reflect on things and she moved on from her anger fairly quickly.

"Oh yeah, don't use your shampoo," Adam supplied meekly.

"Gee, thanks –I did not know that," she replied sarcastically.

"Or use any of the pens on Mr Davenport's desk," Chase continued.

"Or squeeze our 'catch' ball too hard."

"Or open the linen cupboard."

"Or go outside."

"What?" Bree questioned Adam, "Go outside?"

He scratches the back of his neck, "Yeah, the door automatically locks and you get covered in soy sauce. Surprise!"

"May I ask why?" Bree sighed, trying to ignore the fact that her brothers seemed entirely okay with locking someone outside to cover them in disgusting sauces.

Both boys looked across at each other and simultaneously shrugged.

"Dunno," Adam sniffed.

"Why do we do anything in this world?" Chase muttered, "Because we can."

Okay, so Bree had accepted that when the boys got together and started pranking, enough was never enough. That was clear, that was teenagers being idiots. She expected to be pranked multiple times, that was fine. What wasn't fine was their reasoning for setting up such elaborate pranks (or tricks) for her to stumble through because they could. That was there reasoning, because they could.

"We haven't really hung out the much," Adam continued, "We thought it would be a good way of showing our 'brotherly love'."

"Because one generally shows their love by covering their sister in soy sauce?"

"Technically we didn-"

"-Technically you should shut you face." Bree interrupted. Chase wisely kept his mouth shut, turning his head more into his sisters shoulder so he didn't have to see her face.

"Sorry, Bree," Chase mumbled out miserably, completely changing his tone, "I'm an idiot. A really big idiot. The biggest idiot of all the idiots on the planet- the ultimate ignoramus."

Bree's lips twitched and the burrow between her brows became smaller.

"You're not that big of an idiot," she finally sighed, "I suppose I should thank you for the warning."

"So we're cool?" Adam smiled hopefully.

"Oh, absolutely…NOT!"

* * *

Chase had sulked around the lab miserably for a while, until Bree took pity on him and gave him a hug, which he actually returned for once. That was a shocker, considering Chase's arms usually went limp during such displays of affection. Also because he'd already sucked up to her once today, he never did it twice a day.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I'm an idiot."

"I know."

"….That's when you're supposed to tell me that I'm not a-" Chase took in Bree's raised eyebrow, "Okay, I'm a huge idiot. Who'll do what you want for two weeks."

"You know, I'm so used to your pranks now that I don't actually need you to 'make it up' to me."

"Really."

"But since you offered," the both laughed.

"_And since I plan to get even," _she mentally added.

* * *

When they got out of the lab, thanks to Mr Davenport who required glowing praises before they were allowed to get into the lift, Bree made Adam and Chase finish off the still dormant pranks.

Since Chase had apologised, she sent Adam outside for the soy sauce shower, while she supervised her little brother use her shampoo in the kitchen sink to turn his hair a violent shade of orange.

Both boys took Mr Davenport's exploding pens, par one that they all agreed they really ought to leave, and played a game of throwing the booby-trapped catch ball until it exploded in Chase's face.

He sat out after that, because boy did that ball make a loud bang. Bree figured that he had learnt his lesson, and could rest his ringing eared self for a little while on the couch, while she took Adam through the remaining pranks.

"How did you set up so many?"

"Oh, some of them have been around for ages," was his response.

Bree tried not to let that careless fact worry her.

* * *

At the end of the day, Bree had both boys swearing they'd never pull a single prank on her again. They all knew that they were lying, but she accepted it and thanked them for her assured safety anyways.

Leo had come back later on too. The first think he did was wonder why Bree had ice cream all over her jumper, Chase had orange hair and Adam a potato stuck to his forehead and stunk of soy sauce. He had laughed at them for a long time, before going off to his room to dump his backpack.

"Hey, Chasey?"

"Yeah Adam?"

"You know, I think that Leo needs a bit more attention."

"Keep going," Bree chimed in.

"I think he may need some-"

"Bionic love?" his two younger siblings said simultaneously.

"Exactly."

The three Davenports smiled to each other as they began setting up their prank. The boys had promised not to prank Bree, not Leo, after all. And, they weren't taking it that far, this time, considering they had Bree to reign them back in when their ideas got too crazy.

They had Chase's tactics (which he was really stealing from Spike), Adam's creativity and Bree's incredible ability to turn any idea into a reality, after she and Chase made sure it was 100% safe. Together they were the unstoppable team. Poor Leo didn't know what was coming.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Did you like it, not like it etc?**

**So I was thinking, when the boys pull pranks they don't really think about the consequences and sort of just keep bouncing off of each other and getting bigger ideas that get way out of hand. The 'trifecta' was one of them. I then had Bree coming in being all 'I know they're doing it, so I'm going to drop subtle hints that it's ruining my day (which happens in between line breaks so you don't really read it, it's sort of just reflected on). Then they tell her (well Chase does) and she's okay with it until she realises that they're just doing it now 'because' and she wants to show them that that is not a good enough reason to do something.**

**At the end I also threw in Leo just to prove that everything was okay with the bionics again :)**

**Oh and the control box made everything but the lights lose power (capsules auto lock) and so they couldn't really do much until someone from the outside with power forced their way in (what Donald did).**

**Anyways, once again, THANK YOU so much for reviewing, even chapters later I sometimes go back to old reviews or re read some and get so HAPPY ALL OVER AGAIN! It is seriously incredible, and 250? You guys are just...WOW. That's what you are, you guys are simply, 'WOW'.  
**

**Catch ya tomorrow, right? Bye!**


	25. War Zone (I Hate You)

**Hi everyone!  
**

**Okay, I'm seriously so so so SORRY! I literally had the chapter half written out, then my brain was just like 'haha, no, go to sleep.' The same thing happened yesterday...gosh make up your mind brain! Do you wanna keep me up all night or keep me in a comatose state for 48 hours!?**

**Anyways...THANK YOU everyone, your reviews, favs and follows all made me smile so much when I saw them, seriously I was squealing and clapping but no sound was coming out of my mouth so I just looked really awkward...and that's all thanks to you guys for being so FANTASTICALLY SPECTACULAR! Seriously, your levels of EPICNESS are off the charts :)  
**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats  
**

**Warning: No real warning, just Donald and Chase fighting :)**

**Okay, so I've got some BAD NEWS...Sorry guys, but I have camp until Thursday (I leave tomorrow) So I won't be able to update or anything until then (IF ONLYYOU COULD SEE HOW GUTTED MY FACE LOOKS RIGHT NOW!) Seriously, I'm going to miss you guys so much (for like 3 days) **

**BUT DON'T WORRY (if you're worrying) I'm leaving you with a really long chapter (this one is my longest yet) and will be back soon :)  
I'm going to miss you all so much (it's funny how I've only known you guys for a short amount of time (since May 24) and...well...you guys are already such a big part of my life (does that make me sad or cool?)**

* * *

**Anyways, ENJOY!**

**(Oh and '_Italics' _either mean memory or Chase talking to Spike...or someone thinking (don't think that's in this chapter though) and bold is Spike talking back to Chase in his head. Just in case you didn't know :D)**

**I'm not really sure why I called this chap 'War Zone' but I saved in on my computer under that and the name stuck...maybe it's because they're fighting?**

**SORRY FOR THE LONG TIME BEFORE PAGE BREAKS, I SPLIT WHERE I THOUGHT IT'D MAKE SENSE!**

* * *

Chase and Donald had a complex relationship, to say the least. There were times when they acted like an unbeatable team, a united force, and other moments when they were like opponents standing on opposite ends of a battle field.

Sometimes Donald acted like a mature adult, the father, and other times it was Chase who wordlessly ended up taking care of Mr Davenport when his predilection for childishness cropped up again.

There were days when they seemed to be on the same page, not even needing to say things out loud because they knew the other was already thinking it. And then there were those other times. The times when what was right and wrong fell into a matter of opinion, and, the two were practically reading different books, let alone being merely caught up on the wrong page.

The times like right now.

Chase was tired, but he couldn't blame his sudden anger for his father on tiredness. He was in one of those one-on-one sessions Mr Davenport liked having for each individual bionic every once in a while.

They always petrified Chase. Mr Davenport was fine outside of them, but once in his 'session' mindset, all he did was frown and criticize, take notes and speak in an almost detached voice. He worked him harder too, so much harder.

After running through countless simulations all his father told him, after gazing down at his notes, was that he needed to work on his basic stances and time management. He also questioned why Chase ignored the people on the first floor of the simulation's building. No 'good job' or anything, just practical things or critiques.

Chase had taken a deep breath to slow his panting, before he explained his rationale, "W-well, they, uh, could get out on their own, they were right by the f-front door, it wouldn't take them that long to get to safety."

Donald wrote something down, grimaced and looked back across at his son, "Never assume that people can save themselves. I want you to run through it again."

He'd begged for a break and had been begrudgingly given one, before he was back and having to run through all of the stances he did 'not so good at' according to Mr Davenport. Because somewhere along the line it was decided that Donald knew best.

Chase had done as he was instructed and went through all of the positions he remembered taking before an attack, each one got critiqued by Donald and redone over and over again.

Sometime during there, the youngest bionic snapped, "Did I do anything right?"

Mr Davenport paused in readjusting his son's arms, "That's why we have this session, to work on improving."

So nothing. By avoiding the question, he'd given away his answer anyways.

His father told him to redo the block, "Why don't _you_?"

There was a moment where both looked equally as shocked and unprepared for what came out of the youngest Davenport's mouth as the other.

"Excuse me?"

But he didn't back down, "If I'm apparently doing everything wrong, I'd like to see you do it better- come on, I'm a visual learner," Chase bit back.

"Chase," it came out in a low warning tone.

"_Donald_," he countered.

He could see his father visibly seethe, sure he didn't like them referring to him as their dad, but calling him by his first name was always, always frowned upon.

Finally Mr Davenport seemed to let it slide, before he tried to appeal to Chase on a more logical level, "Why can't you just run through this last block? You only have to do one more and then we're done."

"Why don't _you_?"

"Because I'm not the one who goes out into a fight with the wrong stance!" Finally the floodgates opened and Mr Davenport screamed back at his son, showing how truly frustrated he was.

But all Chase did was scoff, "You know nothing about a real fight."

"What did you just say?"

"In a real fight you go off your instincts, all of this," Chase raised the book his father had been referring to the entire session, "is absolutely useless."

Okay, that may not have been true –the bionic always favoured textbook examples and loathed relying on something as fiddly and temperamental as instincts. But he was proving a point, never mind it having no statistical evidence, he didn't need to believe it as long as the man before him did.

Chase further developed his argument by used his molecular kinesis to slam the book against the opposing wall, where it dropped and fell into a small paper bin. He then stood firm as Donald stared at the bin, collected his thoughts and processed what he was going to say.

"Okay then," He finally breathed, staring at his son, before turning to collect his notes.

What was he doing? Chase lost one of his more _self-assured _smiles to call timidly across.  
"….Where are you going?"

He didn't even look up when he replied, "I have a lot of better things I can do, rather than dealing with a precocious little teenager with a mood swing."

Well that stung, which only worked to spike back up his settling irritation, "so I'm a precocious teenager because I've been down here for hours running though inane drills to humour you?"

"Don't answer back."

"It'll be awfully hard for you to have a conversation with someone if you live by that philosophy."

Mr Davenport finally whipped around and locked eyes with his son, "You think you're so smart, don't you? That you've got everything figured out because you were gifted with super smarts?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Chase allowed a cocky smirk to play at the corners of his lips.

"Well I'm glad you have confidence in it, because that's all you're working with- I'm done," Mr Davenport stated, slicing his hand through the air in a definitive motion before he turned to leave once more.

"Wow, just because I don't want to follow you're stupid book?" Chase called after him as Donald made his way over to the lift, where he froze.

The older male turned back around, "Listen, I have no idea what's gotten into you, so I'm going to go upstairs, make a nice cup of tea and forget all about this."

Chase rolled his eyes.

"You know, sometimes I think you're worse than Spike-"

But the bionic cut him off, shooting Donald an incredulous look as he barked back, "Spike is a damn sight better than _you_!"

"I beg your pardon?" Mr Davenport marched back across, "I'll have you know that I'm a billionaire inventor who's raised three kids single handily and has helped save the world countless occasions."

Chase couldn't believe he was using this moment as a _bragging_ opportunity, "Ha, yeah, well I believe that it's actually Bree, Adam and I who do that saving. Sorry."

Donald, at a loss of words, just gazed at his son. "You used to be such a nice boy, Chase, what happened?"

"There we go, always blaming everyone but yourself," The brunette bellowed to the ceiling, making it as dramatic as possible.

"_What_ are you talking about?"

Chase took a step closer to his father.

"Passing the blame on. Obviously the great Donald Davenport didn't do anything wrong, so all of this is just repressed teenage angst."

Donald took a step back, and looked his youngest up and down, "Yep, there is something definitely wrong with you, you used to never talk to me like this- in fact, if I remember correctly, you used to admire me. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to snap out of it right now, Mister. I've got two words for you Chase: grow up."

The boy in question scoffed, "there's nothing wrong with me, but there must have been, because I admired you. You've got one word for me, well I've got three for you,"

There was a moment of silence before Chase struck with what he knew would leave a lasting impact.

"I hate you," Mr Davenport had never heard such thick emotion in his child's voice before, "And I pray every day that I don't grow up to be anything like you."

* * *

"Mr Davenport just doesn't understand, he's so critical of me and treats me like I'm some ball on a string he can play with, throw away and expect to come back," Chase bitterly spat out to Leo, the only poor fool who didn't think to leave as soon as the youngest Davenport stormed out of the lift.

"That….sucks," let it be put down on the record, any record, that Leo was not good in these types of advice giving situations. Ask for a witness or an alibi and L Do was your man….but anything else? Nope.

Luckily Chase didn't need much prompting to continue his rant ridden pacing in front of the couch. "Tell me about it. I mean seriously, he tells me I need to grow up? He's the grown man who still can't step past his own inflated ego to see anything else. I mean seriously, that thing is fit to burst any second now!"

"Mmhm," Leo nodded.

"Who does he think he is? Some-" He honestly tried to listen, he really did, but Chase was seriously dragging on. He'd gotten up to the point where he was repeating himself.

'_Yes Mr Davenport was a hypocrite sometimes, okay? We're all in agreement, yeah? Okay cool…..Now move_ on_!_' Leo's mind blared out what his mouth was smart enough not to say.

Chase finally stopped pacing, causing Leo to look back up at his step-brother, "-It's just sometimes, I don't know, I just feel like we're getting on so well….then the next minute he's calling me a disappointment and telling me to try harder."

"I'm not sure I've ever heard Big D call you a disappointment?" It came out like a question. It didn't seem like something Donald would do, but then again Leo was still learning new things about his family everyday.

"It's been implied, jeez Leo, haven't you ever heard of subtext?"

"Well, no need to get snappy at me!" Leo defended himself, raising his hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

"Yeah, you're right –sorry Leo," Chase rubbed his temple, before collapsing down on the couch beside his makeshift councillor, "So, what do you think?"

Leo opened his mouth, before closing it again…..What did he think?

"I think you already know what I'm thinking. You need to talk to your dad, Chase."

"I know," he moaned.

* * *

Donald remembered back to when his teenage son was still the spirited little boy who thought the world of him. Maybe that had something to do with relativity and availability. When his kids were down in the lab, their world was so incredibly small and they knew so few people, that maybe the affection and idolisation he had received was only because they didn't know anyone, or anything, better. So now they've left their proverbial nest, they can see how truly big the real world is, and meet far better people than Donald, people who will easily show the bionics the error in their previous ways.

But having a basic understanding on why things were happening didn't stop the pain. Mr Donald Davenport could still remember back to when Chase was his inquisitive little shadow, who wanted nothing more than to be like him.

"_What do you want to be when you grow up, Chasey?" Donald asked his youngest while he begun work on his latest invention._

_The boy in question raised his arms up at the man, causing Mr Davenport to sigh and scoop the tiny child up, before placing him on the work bench so he could see what his father was doing._

"_This."_

"_And what's 'this', Little Man?" He chuckled down to the fidgeting brunette._

_Chase hummed then, being completely unbashful in the way only young children can be, looked Donald dead in the eye, "I wanna grow up and be just like you."_

_Donald was flattered, really, and slightly overwhelmed. That was unexpected. He was still getting used to the bionics thinking of his as their father- sure it had been happening for a while- but for a guy who never planned to have kids, especially at his age, some of things they said gave him a bit of a shock.  
The good thing was that the overriding emotion shining it's way through was Donald's feeling of being 'touched'._

_Mr Davenport leant across and ruffled his son's hair affectionately._

But having such a good memory hurt when Donald thought of what Chase had spat at him a mere hour ago.

"_I hate you. And I pray every day that I don't grow up to be anything like you."_

* * *

"I'm sure he's fine. You both just need to blow of some steam, come back and try again," Tasha rubbed her husband's shoulders from where he sat, head in hands, on their bed.

"You didn't see his face though, he was just so….." Donald trailed off.

Tasha tutted.

Donald finally lowered his hands, swallowed the lump in his throat and pushed off of his knees to stand, "Oh well, it's his own fault anyway," Mr Davenport shrugged.

"Pardon?"

"I was just trying to help him, he's the one who turned it around into something else. You'd think he couldn't take any constructive criticism, the way he always acts when I offer him simple tweaks."

Tasha bit her lip, "I'm not saying you're right, or he's right, or anything like that," Donald sat back down in the bed, looked up at his wife, and gestured for her to continue, "But I just think that maybe you should be careful. I know, I know, you may think that pushing him will make him stronger- but all you could really be doing is forcing him further away."

"But that's just…." But he couldn't finish his sentence, because deep in his heart of hearts, he knew Tasha might have _possibly _been on the right track.

"I just want him to be okay. I'm not asking for some grand weapon, a perfect fighter, just _something_ so I don't have to worry about whether he's made it, whether he's good and safe and happy."

"Does he know that?" Tasha responded.

Donald shook his head.

"You've got to remember that you're always going to worry about them, no matter what, it's one of the joys of being a parent." Tasha rubbed the back of her head, thinking about what to add, "When do you think the turning point was?"

"When? I don't know, we were just running through drills and he got snappy –the next second he's saying Spike's a better person than me and how much he _hates _me."

"Spike?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Donald sighed glumly into his hands.

The newly wedded Mrs Davenport looked down at her husband, trying to piece together what she could possibly say next, never mind what she could say to make it all better. She never agreed with Donald dragging Spike into that conversation, he made a big mistake when he did that. Chase and Spike were practically as close as possible, one living inside the other's head, so it was only natural for Chase to get defensive…..Especially since, in her experience at least, Spike wasn't that bad.

_She was arriving home, shopping in one hand and briefcase in the other. When she hit the front door she rung the bell for someone to answer and help her, but when no one came she dropped her briefcase and unlocked the door with the key she had attached to her car keys._

_Inside the room was in utter disarray. The table had been smashed, the fridge door was hanging off of its hinges and the television was lying shattered on the carpet, the ground now littered with tiny pieces of glass. Pillow fluff covered the floor, there were shattered plates, bowls and cups scattered in little clumps on the floor and kitchen island…and there Chase sat on the upturned couch, reading a book, completely unaffected by the wrecked room around him._

_But there was something off about him, he sat with a military perfect posture, knuckles white as they wrapped forcefully around the book –and his face was as expressionless as a brick wall. Yet, for whatever reason, there was just this presence of unbridled power and unequivocal rage burning around him._

"…_..Spike?" From what Tasha had heard about the boy, she suddenly had a very strong urge to go back outside or call for help. _

"_What." It didn't even come out like a question, just a statement in his clear, curt and gravelly voice- definitely different from the youngest Davenport's higher tones._

"_Wha-what happened i-in here?" She breathed out, as she tried to shake herself out of the shock she felt settle in. _

"_I got bored."_

_He was supposed to be a loose cannon, an active volcano, a ticking time bomb -a sadistic little glitch inside Chase's system with an unprecedented tempter, just waiting to go off at any second. Someone who wasn't afraid to injure someone, anyone -an emotionless soldier….No, calm down Tasha, you don't even know him._

_There was a long droning sigh from Spike, who shut his book and marched over to Tasha, she immediately flinched, screwed her eyes shut and prayed that the boy wouldn't hurt her. But instead of touching her, she felt a weight being taken out of her hand and she slowly risked a glance, only to find Spike already over by the kitchen island. He, with a flick of his wrist, caused all of the debris on the table to fly off, leaving the island cleaner than she had ever seen it._

_The boy then placed her shopping down, and methodically worked his way through it faster than anyone she had ever seen. Tasha placed a hand to her chest, as she looked at the perfectly neat piles of food already ordered in type and location around the kitchen. _

"_You're not going to pass out or anything, right?" He questioned after giving her a critical eye, "….Mum?"_

"_What did you just call me?" It barely came out louder than a whispering breath._

_Then his voice came out in what must have been his defensive tone, even though it still sounded like a snarky bark, "….You told us we could…." _

_Right, she had told Chase that he could call her 'mum', which also meant she had effectively told Spike that too. Oh._

"_That's right," she nodded, before she swooped down to pull the bionic into a hug, never mind the fact that he stood stiff and unresponsive in her arms, "Oh, thank you Sweetie."_

"_Get her off of me!" Spike screeched, shoving her off of him, "You take her."_

_Suddenly there was a shift in the boy she had quickly retreated away from, he rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, blinking slightly befuddled and perplexed -disorientated._

"Sorry_," She knew that voice, it was Chase's, and "Spike's not a big fan of physica- what the heck happened in here?"_

Tasha took a step back from her memory, now was not the time. So instead of bringing up Spike, she cut to the main concluding point she had saved all along, "Honey, I think you know what you need to do."

Donald nodded in affirmation, "…Excuse me," he stood up for a second time, and went out the door with a new found vigour.

* * *

Chase knew what he had to do next. But there's a distinct difference between knowing something and then turning it into an action. He'd known as soon as the words left from between his lips, but while his mind tried to slow down his body was already leading him out of the lab.

He'd aim to hurt, and he saw how a few simple words could shatter someone. He thought he'd feel like he achieved something -be proud- but all he wanted to do was hide away and never come look back. He had to go and find Mr Davenport, apologise to him. But after what he'd said, he wasn't entirely sure his father would forgive him.

"**Are you kidding me?"**

"_Pardon?"_

"**Are. You. Kidding. Me?"**

"_About what?"_

"**Oh no, I upset my daddy, and now he's going to hate me forever," **Spike mocked in a high pitched, squeaky voice, **"However will I get him to forgive me, his **_**youngest son**_**? –Seriously, come on Snot Slurper, that's just poor form."**

"_I don't-"_

"**Of course he's going to forgive you, Lady Fingers. You're just being too stupid and girly to realise, more than normal even."**

"_How do you know?"_

"**That you're girly, well the hair for starters-"**

"_-Not that! But, you know, that he'll forgive me."_

"**Call it intuition. You're just going to have to….**_**trust**_**….me," **Spike trailed off near the end, having to practically force the words out from between his teeth. Trust was almost like an emotion, and Chase knew just how much Spike hated emotions.

* * *

Donald was mad, he was hurt, but he didn't focus on that, he tried to move on from it. What he did focus all of his attention on was his worry. You see, Chase doesn't have the same feelings as Mr Davenport. He doesn't know what it's like to love someone in the way a father loves a child, unconditionally and constantly. Forever. No matter what they do or say.

Tasha was right, there was a part of Donald's heart and mind that were signed away the moment he started looking at the projects as his own children.

Chase doesn't understand that where a parent, generally, always loves their child unconditionally, the favour is not always returned. And Donald was scared that a little fight could tear him and Chase apart. That Chase had meant everything he said. The part of him that knew Chase told him he was being crazy, but there was the niggling part at the back of his brain that told him otherwise, the part that had always told him he never deserved anyone as amazing his family.

By the end of it, Donald had to take a lot of deep breaths, count to ten until he was sure he'd done it a thousand times, and scream out his frustrations- but that little part in his heart and mind drew him back and helped him calm down. It was complicated.

Donald was both worried and fuming at the same time, because that's what being a parent is like- being caught with all of these conflicting, juxtaposing emotions. He'd worry until he lost all of his hair, get angry until his voice was hoarse, but he just couldn't think of it being any other way. When he acquired three bionic children, he never expected to be confused and unsure, and boy, he had no idea how forgiving and patient he'd have to be.

Mr Davenport walked out of his room, down the hall and into the living room. Leo was sitting on the couch, looking almost as conflicted as Donald felt- but Tasha could handle him, he had bigger things to worry about.

"Have you seen Chase?"

Leo looked across confused, well more confused than usual, glancing back at the balcony before looking across at his step-dad, "I thought he was talking with you, he literally went to find you ages ago."

"Which way did he go?" Donald followed where Leo pointed, and went out onto the balcony.

* * *

Chase had panicked and hidden up on the roof, he'd told Leo that he was going to go find his dad and apologise, but then he needed a breath of fresh air to calm his nerves… Then he sort of climbed up onto the roof and refused to move.

It was cold, the sky being clearer than usual, but it was a good thing because it allowed Chase to look up and view the spectacular stars and luminous half-moon hanging up in the sky far better than he could on any other night.

It was a perfect place to be, at that moment, with the stars above his head and all of his problems, literally, beneath him.

It was funny, sure he and Donald fought a lot, but it had just been so long since they had had a real proper fight- before Leo came long. He'd completely forgotten how they used to handle them. Did they talk about what they'd said, hug it out, or leave it hanging? But try as he might, Chase just couldn't remember.

So the night's events just kept playing on loop in his mind. He heard the door being opened and his name being called, but he remained stiff and frozen- even if he wanted to talk, he wasn't sure his voice would permit it. The door was then opened and closed once more as the person went back inside. He could hear everyone inside talking about him, but he just wanted to stay up here forever.

* * *

Donald clambered up onto the roof later that night, and everyone laughed and said he never did anything risky, he'd like to see them do this. It took a lot of manoeuvring and near death experiences, but he finally he was 'safe' on the roof.

Now, he wasn't exactly sure what to make of Chase being fast asleep up here, Mr Davenport would have to have a serious discussion with his son about napping in such a dangerous location. But for now he just slid up next to Chase, who suddenly and surprisingly bolted upright.

"Oh, I thought you were asleep," he started, mentally calming himself from the sudden movement.

Chase looked like a deer caught in headlights, but visibly relaxed when he noted who was next to him, before remembering why he was up here in the first place. "Nope," he hesitantly drawled, "just star gazing."

"….Because you do know how dangerous it is to fall asleep on a roof, right?"

"Yeah, of course," he scoffed, like what Donald had said was common knowledge.

"Good."

They sat in silence for a little bit longer, "So this seems to be a recurring pattern with you, huh?"

Chase looked across, perplexed, "Huh?"

"You say something you regret to someone, rant and then go hide out being all sorry for yourself."

"I don't-" but he had to stop himself because he knew that it was true, "How would you know if I regret anything?"

"Whoa," Mr Davenport raised his hands up in surrender, "No need to get all defensive, I'm just saying. But you are my kid, I'd like to think I know you well enough to pick up when you're having a…you know."

"No I don't know," Chase retorted in a snarky tone.

Donald sighed, "You're doing it now. You're upset, so you push people away by getting angry and saying things you don't mean –it's a defense mechanism."

His response was to angle his body away from his father and look back up at the sky. Instead of letting the rejection hurt him, Mr Davenport started laughing, wrapping his arms around his son and brought him back around.

"Get off me," Chase huffed, and when Donald didn't, "I hate you."

"Chase Alexander Davenport, if I listened to you every time you said that, I'd think you detested my very being."

"I do, though."

Mr Davenport just chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, who responded by swatting his hand away and running his fingers though his hair almost immediately afterwards to fix it up, scowling.

* * *

Chase had no clue what he was doing or what he was saying. He was trying to apologise, yet all he did was get filled with that annoying shock of anger and he found himself biting off another fuming remark.

"_Is this you?"_

"**You'd know if it was me, Cupcake, this is all on you."**

"_But why, I don't mean it….but I do…."_

"**I dunno. Hormones?"**

"_Hmm, I'm not sure."_

"**Tell me when you are," **It was supposed to be Spike's leaving remark, but obviously Chase didn't pick up the finality in his tone.

"_I just get so angry sometimes I just snap, I purposefully say things I know will hurt them….I just…..Am I a bad person?"_

"**No. Just a confused one."**

The youngest Davenport sat on the roof with his father, unmoving for a little bit longer, before he finally decided to wrap his arm around Mr Davenport and return his hug.

"…I don't hate you," he whispered in a pitiful voice.

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"You know we're going to make up and be all happy, but I can't guarantee that I'm not going to do this again," Chase sighed.

"Hey, fighting is a two way street, you know. And besides, that's what you said last time, don't worry, I'm sure we can take it when it comes."

Chase said that last time? Well at least he was consistent...even though he wished, in this circumstance, that he wouldn't need a reason to be again.

The two stared up at the sky for a little bit longer, before Chase opened his mouth one more time, "You were right, I say things I don't mean, I'd be…..honoured to grow up to be half the man that you are."

Donald responded by leaning his cheek on the top of his youngest's bristly hair. That didn't last very long, though, before both males felt how awkward the situation was.

"I wasn't designed for these heartfelt moments, is it bad that I just want to get this over with so we can go back inside and eat that late night pizza I heard Tasha order."

"Oh thank God- I thought I was the only one," Chase cut himself off as he sat up and laughed.

"We cool?"

"Totally."

They both stood up, "And for the record, I'm sorry if I ever push you too hard, if it helps Bree didn't even get passed the second floor of the simulation and Adam spent the majority of the time in line for food in the downstairs food court. I just, I don't know, want to help you to keep getting better that I sometimes forget that you need a bit of encouragement sometimes too."

"Thanks Mr Davenport," Chase nodded.

"But you're obviously the best at the simulation. And….. I suppose your blocks were okay," he faux sighed.

"Okay?"

"Mediocre at best."

The two chuckled as they hit the edge of the roof.

"Now come inside and eat the magnificent pizza brought to you by this devilishly handsome and amazingly awesome man's wallet," Mr Davenport smiled, indicating himself with his thumb.

"Hmm," Chase grinned, "'Don't mind if I do."

* * *

"Did you sort it out?" Tasha whispered in her husband's ear as everyone sat around the TV watching some run-of-the-mill movie about singing teenagers with flawless hair.

"Of course."

"How many times did he tell you he hated you?" Bree added to their whispered discussion, turning around from her position at their feet on a beanbag.

"Twice, plus one time agreeing that he detested me."

Bree snorted, "That's nothing."

Tasha shot a confused look to her husband as she glanced between him and her step-daughter, "Nothing?"

"Oh no, Chase's record is, like, eighteen."

"Seventeen," the youngest Davenport called back, startling everyone involved in the conversation. Super hearing at its finest, ladies and gentlemen, is an excellent tool for eavesdropping.

"Eighteen," Adam countered, to which Chase waved his hand at and turned back to the movie.

"So wait, if he's done it before, why did we all make such a big deal out of it?" Leo joined in, making it a family conversation.

"Every time is different, you never know if it's the actually means it, and that doesn't stop it from hurting," Donald explained, noting how his son let out a nervous cough and slouched down more in his beanbag.

"And he was on a roll too," Bree added.

"Yeah, what has it been, a year and a half?" Adam continued.

"Didn't he go off at you?" Bree asked.

"Yeah…but not really," Adam replied, scrunching up his face as he thought about whether it should have counted or not, "No, I started it, 'doesn't count."

"That sounds about right-"

"Hey, this is a really interesting movie, did you guys all see that?" Chase went over the top of Mr Davenport, louder than strictly necessary in an attempt to end the conversation.

"I had no idea," Tasha placed a hand to her heart, "My poor baby, _Donald _why didn't you bring this up. He's obviously just misunderstood and frustrated. You need to have a heart to heart talk to sort this all out, obviously you just keep pushing it off until next ti-" Tasha continued her rant in what she attempted to make hushed whispers, but ended up almost as loud as the movie.

"Oh, Chasey's got anger issues," Leo taunted, pausing after receiving weird looks from Adam and Bree...What, so only they could call him 'Chasey'?

"Teen angst," Adam added after a moment.

"Repressed rage," Bree agreed.

"…..I hate you all."

* * *

**So, what did you think? I've been putting off giving Chase a middle name for ages, but I just had to...it was the perfect place to give him one! (And if you don't like Alexander, you can just pretend I never wrote/typed it)  
**

**Okay so: (because I don't know, I feel like it's good to explain things, even if you've already 'gotten' it -it let's me add insight and rationale)**

**I keep putting Spike in because...well...he's sort of an integral part of Chase's life, I mean he's in his head! So he keeps having his little moments. He's like the begrudged voice of reason, the free therapist!  
**

**I wanted to have a fight or something for some h/c fluff. Then I got thinking of how, and then to Chase on the show and then BLAH BLAH BLAH...I gave him sorta anger management problems...haha NO! I just gave him 'typical teenager' mood swings. I tried to (in my head) figure how everyone would have gone:**

**Adam- no change really...  
Bree- addicted to phone, antisocial, more embarrassed and exasperated, suddenly really into boys  
Chase- got hit hard, takes a while to annoyed but gets those random bouts of anger for no real reason.**

**Then I wanted parental fluff, so I made it Donald, because it was his turn (in my mind anyways) but I put in a little moment with Tasha and Spike to prove that he's not THAT bad...he's got a soft spot for a few people. **

**Donald's emotions is just what I'd imagine it'd be like (probably way off) but yeah -I figured that he'd be just as bad as Chase if they got into an argument, and I dropped in a few 'classic' parental lines ;D  
OH and Mr D was pushing him in the training...but not like majorly, he could see that Chase was getting annoyed so he made the block they were doing the last one, he also let him take breaks. He was harsh BUT fair (well not really fair, but you know what I mean, right?)  
**

**Mr D knows that Chase doesn't hate him, but he's still worried and insecure (because the most narcissistic ones are generally the most insecure) that Chase means it or that he'll start meaning it. Because every time is different.**

**THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! You marvelous, MAJESTIC, UNICORN LIKE (because unicorns are epic...let's face it), DELIGHTFULLY WONDERFUL AND EXTRAORDINARY (which I realised I've been pronouncing wrong for many years now...) beings of beauty and kindness :) !**

**I love you all in the platonic internet way :)**

**Catch ya after camp, yeah? Bye!**


	26. This Is Not A Family Road Trip!

**Hi everyone!**

**I'm back :D (Duh, me, why are you stating the obvious? Of course you're back or you wouldn't be posting anything!) Camp was awesome, thanks guys, it was seriously so much fun (even though I missed you all terribly D:**

**But when I got back I read the sweetest reviews every, I mean WOW. You guys are just too NICE! I re-read over them and was smiling and laughing and squealing all over the place- it was INSANE!**

* * *

Death-Sama01:** I wish I thought of that...But that's one of the many reasons I love writing, because people can take stuff they already know and interpret it and place it into your story :) (I would have sounded totally smart if I said I did put that in there...but I'm not and then people would expect it from me ;P THANKS FOR THE REVIEW!**

KatyLinn:** AWWW, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You're review literally gave me a biggest smile every (bigger than I thought my face could even stretch!) Mother may come back, I left the door open for her just in case I wanted to bring her back for a oneshot or two...**

Guest 1** and **Guest 2:** Thank you so MUCH for your review Guest 1! I thought Alexander fitted quite nicely too ;) And Guest 2, thank you SO SO SO much! Ah, I always love/hate reading when people re read my work (love because it's the sweetest thing and one of the biggest compliments ever to read! But hate because I know where all the spelling mistakes and stuff are [I really need to fix those..])**

Avengers13:** Camp was awesome, thanks :) and thank you for your reviews, you're always so constant and kind and ahhhhh (just awesome :D)**

HowtoRiseBigTime:** Maybe I was pronouncing it properly...I go 'ext-roah-din-ary' basically I severely downplay the 'extra' part...but all my teachers go 'extra-ordinary' so now I'm not sure (but I seriously hope I pronounce it right somewhere around the world! Thank you for being so consistently awesome and amazing, seriously WOW, thanks :)**

Little Red Riding Brat:** I never thought of giving him that middle name...but by gosh, it makes such sense! (Epiphone type time for moi) XD**

LoveShipper:** Yeah, that's exactly what it is :) Thank you, seriously, for always reviewing, it makes me so happy and thankful and...really, you're awesome :D**

DirtKid123:** It's great to know you loved it! Seriously, I love hearing it when people tell me they love my stuff (it gives me warm fluffy feelings) so thank you so very much :)**

beverlie4055:** I GOT AN 'EXCELLENT' THIS TIME!? Aww, thank you :) You're reviews always make me smile, thank you...again...because I can never thank people enough ;D**

Sofia5565:** Hi! Thanks so much, that's great to hear :) You made me smile :)**

R5Auslly:** Love the name, seriously, thank you so much for your reviews- you're too sweet so THANK YOU! :D**

Unknown:** Awwww, thank you! I love reading it when people sort of write the chapter back to me (if that makes sense) it really helps me solidify the thought that other people get what I was writing and YOU totally DID! 'The shining star' not only was that seriously sweet, but TOTALLY awesome...I'm going to have to remember that one...THANK YOU! :D**

* * *

**Seriously, thank you anyone and everyone who reviews, favs, follows or heck even reads this far! You guys have given me so much support it is incredible. Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined this...so WOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH! You magnificent, wonderful, beautifully kind beings you :)**

* * *

**NOTE:**

"**The term 'people mover' is a peculiarly Australian term for a multi-seat vehicle whose express purpose is to transport at least six people – but less than about 10." What a 'People Mover' is from the GoAuto website (in case you guys didn't know what one was).**

* * *

**I don't own lab rats :)  
**

**WARNING: This chapter jumps around a lot and is majority dialogue...but yeah...**

**This is the road trip one which was suggested by the ever radiant AllAmericanSlurp ages ago (chapter 8) and, like I always do and will, I finally got around to it...it's sort of different from **'cliched' family trip** they suggested though...yeah, I sorta majorly expanded on that, but you'll see :) **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

It was supposed to be a quick test drive –an hour tops– but no, everyone just had to have had nothing on that weekend. It was going to be his one-on-one time….with himself, but that just made it all the more important! Just Donald, his dulcet tones tinkling out of the car's speakers and an open road made for the perfect, relaxing moment away from everyone. It was going to be perfect…..Until they all asked (forced, manipulated or blackmailed him) into being clearly unwelcomed 'tag alongs'.

Donald was still audibly grumbling when Bree slid in beside her two brothers, headphones around her neck, backpack slung over her shoulder and clipboard on her knee. Everyone else was already in the car, even Eddy.

"Okay, just shut the do-"

"Is that Grandma Rose's Car?" Leo cried out, face suddenly glued to the window's _brand new glass_.

"Face off of the window, Sweetie," Tasha tutted, reading Donald's mind. Like she hadn't before when he wanted everyone out of his car.

"Bree, door NOW!" Mr Davenport tightened his grip on the wheel.

"Grandma!" Chase screamed, unbuckling his seatbelt and darting out of the People Mover to greet the solemn woman looking at the vehicle like it was the embodiment of all the things she despised in the world.

"Door."

"Donald!" Tasha hit her husband on the arm.

"Chase can take one for the team," he reasoned, but shut his mouth when Rose tapped on his window very forcefully.

Mr Davenport slowly wound down the window, visibly shuddering and wincing as the barrier between himself and his mother-in-law lowered, but shooting her a fake smile she did not return when it was all the way down.

"So, I see you're leaving on a trip," she drawled.

"No trip, just a quick test drive of my latest invention," he gritted out through his fake smile, nodding his head at Chase to get back in the car if he didn't want to be suddenly left alone with Grandma Rose. The youngest Davenport, however, just cocked his head to the side in confusion wondering why his father had suddenly developed a nervous twitch.

"Uh huh."

"It was nice of you to stop by, but as you can see we-" he started.

"Hold on," the overbearing female motioned with her finger, "Chase, baby, go fetch Grandma's things from the car," she passed her car keys to the brunette who scurried away without need for further instructions.

"Uh, Mum?" Tasha questioned.

"Well, what did you expect? I drive all of this way to visit my grandbabies and my lazy daughter is too busy doing nothing to send a message to little old me about packing up and leaving-"

"We're not-" Donald started, but was cut off again with a sharp look.

"-In a monster such as this. Look at all of this witchcraft!" She gestured to the high-tech interior of the People Mover, "I'm not letting you risk my grandbabies in such an abomination without me there to protect them."

"I got your bags Grandma," the returned teenager reported, lugging two heavy suitcases behind him that looked like they belonged in the before picture for a fashion deficit person on a makeover show.

"Thank you, baby, put them in the back," Rose turned, patted Chase on the cheek and walked around to the door, "I'm coming with you."

"Well you could all stay home," Donald suggested, barely containing his shrieks of utter frustration that his family had practically monopolised his entire 'Davenport Time'.

* * *

After a lot of unneeded fidgeting and shuffling it ended up with Leo next to his grandma in the second last row of chairs with her handbag beside her and her other things of course taking up the back row. Why she needed her all of her bags for what was supposed to be a quick trip was something nobody dared ask her.

Adam sat happily by the window in the row before the two Dooley's with his brother sandwiched between himself and his sister. Then it was Tasha and Donald in the front.

Happy family set up, right?

Donald was still throwing a silent hissy fit, Tasha kept shooting nervous glances at her mother through the side mirror, Adam kept elbowing Chase, Bree wouldn't stop bopping and singing off key along with her music and Leo was stuck with his grandma's yarn wrapped around his hands.

"Everyone happy?" Donald finally called back.

There was a general reply of varying 'no's', besides for Bree, who was too busy screeching along about losing a boyfriend and red lipstick to notice a question had even been asked.

"Good, so everyone's on the same page," he grinned cheerfully, if he had to be miserable with the situation he was glad that everyone else was too.

"So where are we heading first?" Tasha clapped her hands, trying to break the tension in the air.

"You make this sound like it's some sort of road trip, I'm just testing out how well this baby handles the open road after the modifications I made to the original design."

"So you're saying that this is a prototype?" Grandma Rose stuck her head up from her knitting, "What kind of a man takes his mother-in-law, wife, step son and brother's children in a car that could break down at any moment?"

"I didn't want you to come!"

"Shame on you," she tutted, "Risking everyone like that? Just as stupid as I remember from last time. It's a good thing I came."

* * *

It took Bree three songs to remember the clipboard she had balanced on her knee, and, another song to explain it to her family, who weren't asking about it yet, but were probably just about to, right?

"Okay, so since we've never been on anything like this,_ like_, ever," she started, "I wrote a list of places we just _have _to stop at, things we _need _to do and stuff that'll stop us going completely crazy."

"Uh, this isn't a road trip?" Donald tried again, yet by now he was already questioning whether that was true or not anymore.

But regardless, wasn't list making a Chase thing? Mr Davenport spared the clipboard a glance in the review mirror, there seemed to be a fair amount of paper clipped down. However, in the end that both worried him and filled him with pride and relief, at least Bree was taking time away from her texting to do something…..besides be on her phone.

It was nice to see that, at least for now, there wouldn't be another infamous argument between his daughter and mother-in-law on mobile phones and whether or not Bree should be permitted to use one, let alone be on it twenty-four seven. But still, that work looked hefty, and Bree was one of those girls who usually didn't quit until she got her way.

"Do you have any food on that?" Adam smacked his lips, looking across at his sister's rather extensive list over his brother's head.

"No, but I packed some pudding in my backpack just in case," Bree replied, already passing her brother a pudding cup before she'd finished talking.

The youngest Davenport then looked down into the pink backpack, "Do you have-"

"Yes." She cut Chase off, handing him a checklist version of the events she had planned.

"Why do you need a checklist?" Adam questioned.

"It makes everything more official," his brother replied contently, ticking off the '_Departure_' box with the texta his sister passed him.

"Don't you mean makes everything more _boring_?"

"Shut up, Adam," Chase sighed.

"Language!"

"Sorry Grandma, shush it brother _dearest_."

"Ha, Chase just got told!" Leo chuckled, but was quickly silenced by his grandmother's stern glare.

* * *

Chase was finally back in his seat after being out of the car once again for one of Bree's random destinations. It was a rock that even he couldn't make sound exciting. Yet his sister still ushered them all out of the car, stuck a piece of gum in her mouth and chewed on it while she critiqued it and took terrible photos of the orange thing. She'd then gathered them all in a group where they were subjected to being a part of a bunch on undesirable and poor quality selfies that mainly highlighted Bree's extensive knowledge on photo poses and how un-photogenic, awkward, distracted or unimpressed the rest of the family was.

Regardless Bree was already messaging them to her friends and giggling at the replies she received when she plonked back down beside him in the People Mover. As long as she looked good in the photo, she didn't care about anyone else.

"Chase, hold still for a second Sugar," Rose hummed, once again sliding the tape measure around his head. Apparently she had already knitted Leo a pair of gloves on the car ride, and now she wanted to make Chase a hat, but couldn't seem to remember the size of his head, no matter how many times she measured it.

Chase did as he was told, before ticking '_Orange Rock' _off of the checklist he'd been given at the start of the journey. See? Even Bree couldn't come up with a better name for it!

"Mr Davenport?" He received a grunt from the driver, who for whatever reason appeared to have been in a foul mood all day, "Can we stop off for some food?"

"Are you hungry?" Tasha spun around in her chair.

"Because I've got some hard lollies in my bag," Grandma Dooley added.

"Oh no, it's just that the checklist says we stop off for food next…...But thanks anyways Grandma."

"Hey, here's an idea! Why don't we just go back?" Donald filled his voice up with as much false enthusiasm and gusto as he could manage.

There was a unanimous 'no'.

After a lengthy silence and an expectant look from a certain bionic, Mr Davenport finally stated in a flat tone, "I'm not stopping off for food."

"But it's on the list," Chase countered.

"If the checklist told you to marry it, would you?" Leo pipped in.

"I bet he would," Adam chuckled, high fiving his step-brother over the back of his chair.

"But Mr Davenport…It's. On. The. List!"

"I don't care. I'm the driver," Donald called over his youngest, who was already rambling on about how it was official and he needed to tick it off and 'do you want the list to have an un-ticked box?'

"Just pull over at a McDonald's for five minutes," Tasha finally sighed out in exasperation.

"No," Mr Davenport held firm, "I'm not stopping the car because of some stupid checklist!"

"DONALD!"

"_Fine_, five minutes!"

"Forty," Chase corrected, glancing down at '_Food Stop: 40min'_ to double check.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

They did end up spending forty minutes at a McDonald's, which caused Chase to wear a smug smirk for the next half an hour. He drew a big, thick tick through that checkbox.

"OMG, Caitlin hey!" Bree suddenly shrieked, raising her phone up to her ear, "Oh no, I'm not busy…..he did not…..OMG…..Are you serious?...Oh my gosh!" she squealed down the line, seemingly forgetting that she was in fact in a car and could not scream so loudly in such close proximity to others.

Chase ticked '_Phone Call From C'_ off the list.

"Bree, would you mind –I don't know- being just a smidge quieter?" Tasha asked, turning around in her chair to shoot her oblivious step-daughter a pleading look.

"Or hang up?" Rose added with a steely tone.

"Mum, she's not hurting anybody –let the girl talk to her friend."

"Back in my day we used to go out and visit each other if we wanted to talk, now a day kids are using all of these fancy technologies to facemessage their friends –no wonder you are so supportive of them. I bet you wished you could have been so lazy when you were growing up, it sure suits your personality."

"Facebook or text message, Grandma, it's one or the other," Leo attempted to pat Rose on the back but….you know…..yellow wool wrapped around his hands and all sort of prohibited that.

"I'm sorry that you think I'm lazy mother, but I'll have you know I am currently a very successful jou-"

"OKAY. Now is not the time people!" Donald slammed his hands down on the wheel, issuing silence throughout the car, even from Bree.

"Yeah, _'Family Arguing'_ isn't until three fifteen!"

Mr Davenport sighed, "….That's not what I meant Chase….."

* * *

Adam was having great fun eating pudding and watching the clouds out the window, especially when they began growing darker and heavier. When the first droplets began to fall he heard Mr Davenport swear, Grandma Dooley chastise him and his brother say that strawberry picking could still be done if the weather cleared up.

But Adam wasn't all that fussed about any of it, it wasn't like he had any plans for the day, and watching the raindrops race down the window really kept his entertainment levels up.

"Go Theodore!" he cheered the little deformed water droplet on.

"Who're talking to?" Leo had been oddly quiet for the past fifteen minutes, but Adam had quickly worked out that it was because the car in front of them had a DVD playing in the backseat with something to do about cops and skating.

The eldest bionic looked forward to see the happy family in the four-wheel drive were gone, that explained it, before glancing back at his step brother, "him."

Adam tapped at where Theodore was.

"Who? Where?"

"_There," _The older teen pointed more firmly at the glass, turning back to the window where he realised….."I MISSED THE RACE!"

"What race?" Leo sounded even more confused now, if that were even possible.

"Okay, can we make a new rule that there can be no more sudden screaming in the car? Especially if you are sitting behind the driver…_Adam._"

"The race between Theodore and Leopold, now I'll never know who won!" he cried out bitterly, ignoring Mr Davenport and his barely veiled jab at all of the screaming in the car.

"I'm sure….'The Door' would have won," Leo tried in a comforting tone.

"Theodore," Adam corrected, wiping a stray tear from his eye.

"I really don't care," his step-brother replied in the same reassuring and soothing voice.

"Fair enough," Adam conceded, nodding and accepting the condolences Leo started awkwardly giving about Theodore the raindrop.

* * *

Bree filmed Adam and Chase grappling beside her, her older brother holding the checklist out of the window and pushing Chase back with a hand, while he fought against his older brother to reclaim the stolen booklet.

"Oh, come on Little Dude, are you even trying? I don't think you are!" Adam taunted.

"Give it back, Adam," Chase responded, "It's not yours!"

"Well….It's not yours either! It's Bree's." The older bionic countered.

Leo was jeering uncontrollably in the background, Tasha had a hand clutched to her chest, Rose was blaming it on technology (nobody really knew how she made that connection) and Donald was silently hoping Adam would just hurry up and drop the darn thing out the window already.

"That's enough," Tasha finally yelled, "sit straight both of you this instant. Do you know how dangerous that is? What do you think would happen if Donald were to crash the car right about now, hmm?"

"Well at this speed I'd predict that it would take-"

"That's not what she meant, idiot," Bree shoved her younger brother, flipping off her phone when she figured the fun had stopped.

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Are too!"

"Am not, you're the one who spent that entire year as a-"

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Bree blocked her ears and screamed, "I'm not listening, I can't hear you!"

"What are you three? Five?" Donald sent them a stern look in review mirror before he turned back to concentrate on the road.

"He started it."

"No, she started it."

"IT WAS ALL LEOPOLD!"

* * *

It took exactly three point five seconds for everyone to start complaining when Donald slipped in his 'Greatest Hits' CD. What they didn't plan for, in those three point five seconds of stunned silence, was the backlash they'd get for grumbling.

"That is it," was all Mr Davenport said in a clear, crisp and formal tone as he slammed on the brakes of the car.

"Uh, Big D, what are you doing?" Leo questioned, "You do realise that the accelerator is the other pedal, right?"

"I have driven for hours, doing a whole bunch of things I didn't want to do –which includes that canoeing, Bree- and have not yet tested out a single one of the new features I needed to look at."

"Don-"

But Mr Davenport kept talking over his wife, "Because _someone- _Rose- doesn't even want me driving over eighty in such a 'big, evil technological' car that could possibly harm her grandbabies, let alone herself or her _daughter_."

"Excuse me?"

"-And all I really wanted to do was have a nice relaxing drive, not follow some long checklist –_Chase_- or have people randomly _screaming_ –everyone. Now please, all I want to do is listen to my 'Greatest Hits' CD to regain a little of my already lost sanity, is everyone okay with that? Good."

"Yeah Tasha, this is all your fault," Eddy suddenly quipped, appearing after an entire car ride of uncharacteristic silence.

"Oh don't you start with me you egotistical pixel blip!"

"Bring it on you home-wrecking-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

"Donald?"

"Donnie?"

"I am turning this car around right now, I don't even know where I'm supposed to be going anyways-and no that was not an invitation for you to look at your checklist Chase- so I am taking everyone back right now. I have had enough of the lot of you."

"But not me, right? Donnie? _Donnie_? DONNIE!" Eddy wasn't given a response.

Mr Davenport had already spun the car around and was tapping at the one of the controls on the dashboard, opening up a portal type thing in front of the car that he sped through….which opened up in a matter of seconds back up the driveway of home.

"Whoa," Adam took a moment to appreciate the sudden change in scenery, before remembering the dumbfounded silence everybody else had fallen under and quickly shut his mouth again.

Donald parked the car, strode out of the driver's seat and up to the house before anyone had even thought of opening their mouths again.

"Well…..Way to go Tasha," Eddy's snarky voice faux congratulated the woman before his emoticon disappeared to assumedly reappear inside the house somewhere.

"I should probably be going then," Rose suddenly stood, inadvertently pulling Leo with her until she unwound the wool from around his hands.

"Do you need any help with your bags?" Chase asked in a small voice.

"No, I can handle them baby," she nodded, as if to affirm her statement before swinging her handbag onto her shoulder, kissing everyone on the forehead, and hefting her two suitcases out of the People Mover and towards her own car.

"…Bye Grandma!" Leo called out.

She turned and waved before clambering into her car and driving off.

"Well that was sudden…." Bree murmured.

"It must have been something Donald said…..I hope he's alright," Tasha bit her lip, looking up at the house to where she knew her husband was lurking inside sulking.

"Chase." Adam patted his younger brother on the back.

"What?"

"Go on, you're his favourite, go smooth things over," the oldest bionic made a 'shooing' gesture with his hand.

"I'm sure he'd much prefer some time alone, or maybe his wife," Chase looked to see Tasha was still lost in her own thoughts, so he gave a long winded sigh and unbuckled his seat-belt.

* * *

Donald was lying on his bed, listening to his own melodic voice sing out sweet nothings and looking at the near blank sheet of paper he could in no way send to his manufacturing team as proof that he had done a full test on the People Mover.

There was a tentative knock at his door, "Yes?"

Chase poked his head through the door, "I see you got stuck with the 'fix things up with Davenport' job again?"

His youngest nodded wordlessly, "Come in then. Don't worry, I'm not going to blow up at you."

Chase, not needing to be told twice, crossed the threshold and scurried over to the bed, which he immediately knelt beside. They sat in silence for a very long time, well as silent as you can get with a CD in the background blasting out the musical styling's of one Donald Davenport.

"I'm sorry about getting so angry….I just lost it at you guys," Donald finally sighed.

"No, we're sorry, we totally intruded into your own time –you were running a scientific safety test and we turned it into a casual drive."

"I didn't mean to be so….." he trailed off, looking down at his son like he would give him the words he was lacking.

"Well we didn't mean to be so…..you know…..either."

There was a reason they always sent Chase for this job, he was good at it.

Mr Davenport swallowed, "How'd Rose take it? I can practically hear her complaints from here."

"Actually, she left practically as soon as you got inside."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, she appeared more thoughtful than anything else."

Donald took that as a small victory, before remembering how a tiny triumph was nothing compared to the canyon he'd dug himself in a matter of minutes.

"Sometimes we forget."

"Forget what, Chase?"

"We forget that you have other work too, that you get stressed too, that you need time alone too…." The youngest Davenport trailed off and looked up at his father figure.

Donald responded by sighing, "No, I'm sorry, you shouldn't be apologising to me for anything," patting his son on the head, before standing up and walking out of the room to apologise to the rest of his family, starting with a call to a very assertive mother-in-law.

* * *

It all ended rather unremarkably with Mr Davenport and Tasha wordlessly kissing (cue an 'ewww' from everybody else) Adam calling a group hug and Rose –via phone- admitting that some technology wasn't _completely_ evil….especially if she could use it to cut the distance between her and her friend's homes for bingo night. She also may have implied that she was wrong and that she was sorry –shock horror!

Even after the utter disaster of the first, the Davenports decided from then on out to have a family drive every fortnight, and a family road trip every two months. Despite a tiny bit of grumbling, it all ended up being rather fun and enjoyable. Especially after they came up with the three golden rules:

But there were a lot of new rules:

_1. No checklists (in Chase's hands) or any structurally organised activities_

_2. No fighting or yelling_

and (arguably the most important rule of them all),

_3. No 'Davenport's Greatest Hits' more than once per car ride (he was the driver after all)_

Okay, so they may not have stuck to them all the time, but they tried and that was the main thing. At least that's what they kept telling themselves.

* * *

**So what did you think? The chapter jumps around a bit to different snapshots of their car ride. The ending wasn't my favourite...but I had Donald mad so I couldn't just have him magically become calm...unless I took the chapter in a completely different direction.  
**

**SO instead of going for cliche family trip, I turned it into a dysfunctional family road trip! With Bree trying to make it cliche, Chase trying to micromanage everything, Adam having no other plans, Rose hating on technology (in a technology advanced car), Leo watching a DVD for some of it, Tasha just being there and Donald wondering how 'I'm going to take the People Mover for a test drive to see how it works' could turn into everyone piling into his car and interrupting Donald and Donald time (with Eddy).**

**Bree being cliche cuz she's into all of that stuff, trying to be the stereotypical everything ;)  
Chase because he is just like that, you give him something and he'd organise it like that (insert me snapping my fingers).  
Adam and Leo just because that's what I thought their personalitilites would suit. Same with Rose, because she always has to appear out of everywhere and hates technology etc.**

**Also I know Donald blew up at everyone, but if you were having a nice quiet time and were suddenly overrun up four teenagers, a grandmother who doesn't like you, your non helpful wife and smart security system who stays silent the whole time- you'd snap too! Then I had to bring the chapter back around to Chase so I had him go talk to Donald for a couple of paragraphs :)**

**So, THANK YOU once again you TERRIFIC, WONDROUS, DELIGHTFULLY STUPENDOUS PEOPLE! (I literally re-read all of my reviews and I was tearing up and AWWWing and SQUEALING all over again with a GINORMOUS grin on my face! So thank you all so very very very very very very very times infinity much!)**

**Tomorrow I was thinking of doing a more internal chapter (like my old ones) what do you guys think?  
Then I'll do some of the amazing chapters that have been suggested to me by INCREDIBLE people :D**

**Catch ya tomorrow, yeah? Bye!**


	27. Avalanche (He Just Can't Be Dead)

**Hi everyone!**

**Okay, so I'm posting this a whole lot later than I usually do (generally I post it at some incredibly early time in the morning...but today it's in the afternoon...mainly because I only had a little bit more to write and ended up going overboard and turning this into my longest chapter yet [I think anyways]).  
**

**Thank you so much for your INCREDIBLE reviews, the never cease to make me smile :) You guys are the best of the best, the creme de la creme (except with the little accents on the E's.) Seriously, you guys are AWESOME!  
**

**Okay, so this chapter is set after everyone knows about Douglas and is mainly Adam, with a section for both Bree and Donald (and briefly Leo) and their thoughts during the episode 'Avalanche'...Mainly focusing on Chase being 'dead'. It was suggested by the forever awesome thewriterswayoflife :)  
**

* * *

**WARNING: Sad thoughts, uhhh, SPOILERS for the episode and yeah. Basically they think he's dead and so they're not exactly going to be happy little Vegemites about it, so yeah. **

**I don't own lab rats :)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

'_He's okay. He is okay. He has just got to be okay. Chase is fine. They're fine. Everyone's fine.'_

Where was his brother? It shouldn't take this long to find him. It should have been a quick sweep in, locate and help, a laughing 'you're an idiot Chase' on the way back that his baby brother would have rolled his eyes at and said 'you're one to talk'. But they couldn't even find his heat signature, let alone any physical part of him.

'_Where are you, Chasey?'_

Adam tried to find a rational explanation to explain why they couldn't locate Chase, but the best he could come up with wasn't very good. Especially since penguins are _black_ and white, and in his snow jacket Chase looked more like a pintsized snowman than a flightless bird.

Bree decided that it would be best to move South, but Mr Davenport cut her off, "No guys –that's it- there could be another avalanche any minute…..I'm calling off the rescue."

'_No. Mr Davenport doesn't understand, I need my brother. And I need him to be okay.'_

Naturally the bionic siblings reacted in shock and objected most profusely. Then Bree found Chase's ComSet, so they just _had _to keep looking….but that discovery was quickly followed by an avalanche, leaving the female bionic with no choice but to whisk her and her brother away to safety.

But the further she carried herself and her brother away, the more both bionics thought they were forsaking their younger sibling. They had to will themselves with every fibre of their beings to not turn around, to not continue their suddenly very serious and desperate search –and even then it was a struggle.

"What'd happen if you two got injured or lost out there? This is…..this is for the best, I'm su-" Mr Davenport tried, but Adam clicked off his ComSet.

* * *

On the plane ride Bree started to cry. Adam did his best to comfort her, but there were just too many waves of tears for him to even dream of catching, so he just held her.

People are supposed to live forever, right? Well, at least Chase was supposed to live forever, because Adam just simply could not imagine a world without him in it, and now he might just have to. But they weren't '_those people'_, they weren't '_that family', _the ones who have terrible things happen to them, so he just had to be okay. He _had _to.

"He'll be okay," Adam murmured, even though he knew every word he spoke was a bitter lie. But he had to reassure her, because he was still the big brother.

"W-we found his Co-o-mSet," she breathed, hiccupping slightly.

"Yeah?"

"We f-found his ComSet, he's out th-there and we _left _h-him!"

"Chasey's smart, he'll be okay."

"Will he though?" Bree looked up at her brother, searching for something –anything- that could make it all okay. Okay. There was that word again, not exactly good; but acceptable. That's what they were looking for, 'okay'. All Adam could offer his little sister was a faux smile and a small shrug.

After a moment of silence, in a pitifully small voice, "…I'm not going to be a big sister anymore."

"You will always be a big sister."

"No. No I won't," she shook her head and those terrible waterworks started up once more.

Adam held her tighter, biting his lip to stop his own sobs, until he realised that he was in no inclination to cry. But here his sister was clearly distraught…

'_Is it wrong that I'm not crying too?'_

* * *

"How…..are _you _feeling?"

"I don't know," Adam answered honestly.

Bree's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I just…..don't know."

* * *

By the time they got back home, Adam could tell how little chance he had of ever seeing his baby brother again once Mr Davenport greeted them with a silent and solemn hug. They both turned to their father figure for direction, for any sliver of plausible hope that they could hang on to, but all he could offer them was a shaky apology.

Bree started rattling off different scenarios in her sudden hysterical optimism, Donald was fervently nodding along -obviously humouring her- but Adam just couldn't play along. All he could do was watch the live feed of the location they were just at on Mr Davenport's laptop, hopelessly praying for any signs of life.

"Maybe Adam was right," Bree giggled, "Maybe Chase was taken in by Eskimos."

Mr Davenport snorted, "Yeah, and they're feeding him fish inside an igloo as we speak."

How could they be joking? Were they serious? Where was Chase, where was his Chasey? They needed to go find him- _now._

"Come on Bree, we've got to go back," Adam clapped his hands together, turning to leave again.

Her face dropped as soon as words stopped flowing out of her mouth, she set her expression to a determined one as she turned to follow her brother, but Donald reeled her back in with 'logic'.

"No, it's too dangerous, the area is completely volatile, there is virtually no chance that we'd be able to find Chase in conditions like that. I'm sorry, but I'm not risking you two. Just stay here. We have a far better chance of thinking things through here, than just racing back out there."

"There's no time though!" The eldest bionic tried, turning to his sister for support, but all she did was bite her lip, "If you stop us from going you're condemning him. You know that, right?"

_Condemning? _That was a good one, Cha…._someone_….taught it to him not to long ago.

'_No, don't do that. Why are you already avoiding his name?' _But Adam's mind also had the answer, _'...Because you know.'_

"I'm not risking you two," Donald held firm.

"But he's my brother."

"He's my brother too, Adam, but," her voice faltered, Bree swallowed, "But Mr Davenport's right."

"…..So we're just going to give up on him?"

There was silence from the two remaining Davenports in the room.

"You know, he wouldn't give up on you two, he'd keep looking- HE WOULD!" Adam screamed, "Why aren't you listening to me? We_ have_ to GO!"

"Adam, calm down –breathe- it's okay," suddenly there was a strong grip on the eldest bionics' shoulders forcing him to turn away from the portable screen his eyes had wandered back to. Mr Davenport was in front of him, Bree was clutching onto his arm, they kept talking, but he wasn't listening.

Instead he became aware that he was sobbing, violently sobbing, like there was nothing in the world that could possibly stem his flow of abrupt tears.

"He wouldn't give up on you. I don't understand. He wouldn't. Why are you giving up on him?" He kept repeating over and over again.

Adam could hear the comforting words his family tried to offer him, but he couldn't look past the barely veiled tears behind his sister's eyes and, the trembling jawline of Mr Davenport's anguished face. There words meant nothing when he knew they meant none of it.

Finally, after some deep breaths the eldest Davenport managed a quiet, "He's really gone, isn't he?"

Mr Davenport bit his lip, but shook his head, "There's always a chance-" but Adam stopped raised his hand up to stop him from going on. He didn't want false hope, he wanted something real to hold onto. Adam knew that they'd never be able to save his brother now, not after the second avalanche, not without a set location. Not with Mr Davenport treating the situation like it was already over.

There was a numbness growing inside of him, slowly desensitising all of his senses. All his mind could do was replay his baby brother's scream of utter terror, the horrific silence that followed and then…..the realisation that there was no way Chase could have gotten out of that. Bree might still be grasping onto the hope that maybe Chase had moved location, but Adam had seen the coordinates, there was no way he could have magically moved to a new location, he was trapped and they were just standing here doing nothing.

In a moment he went from being seemingly fine to having his hands suddenly turn clammy and the air he was inhaling refuse to settle in his lungs. He was gasping for breath….is that how Chase felt? In that second Adam realised that it was over, that he'd never hear his baby brother's voice again, see his smile, hear his laugh or snarky retort, feel his girly little slap or….anything, ever again. That second that etched an irreversible and un-swallowable lump into his suddenly dry throat...That instant was the one that left an empty space in his bleeding heart.

It hurt far worse than any physical injury, the sudden sickening moment when he realised that Chase was gone….and that he must have figured that out too. His baby brother was smart, he'd have to have known after some point that it was the end. Was he content, scared, unprepared, impossibly alone, regretful? Or was he remaining forever foolishly hopeful that they would come and save him...Was he already_ gone_? Or was he still clinging onto life like the stubborn mule he was?

"Adam? Adam, you need to calm down, breathe," Bree pleaded, but she was sobbing now too. Again.

"I failed, I failed, _I failed."_

"Come on guys, pull yourselves together, we don't know that he's dead. He could be safe, we just don't know," but Donald's voice shook.

* * *

Adam managed to swim through his haze of foggy, debilitating emotions to stumble across a memory that did not help the situation at all.

"_Chasey-Wasey, you gotsta come down, right now!" Bee-Bee stuck her little hand on her hip and glared up at her younger brother with a disapproving frown._

"_But Bee-Bee, I need to collect the dust for Mr Davenport's experiment!" Chasey replied, with only his legs visible from down below._

_Adam watched his two siblings, wondering how to react. Chasey was on top of one of the bookshelves in the 'quiet' corner of the lab, and Bee-Bee was standing below going off about how 'dan-ger-ous' it was. Adam didn't really get why, it's not like anything could happen, right?_

"_Listen to Bee-Bee, Chasey, come down," But Adam decided to follow his sister's example. Bee-Bee was getting worked up and besides, Chasey usually listened to them when they worked together._

_The youngest Davenport moaned, but seemed to agree, then stopped short when he sat himself along the edge of the bookshelf, looking down._

"_How….how do I get down?"_

_Adam and his sister shared a look, they hadn't thought of that, "Jump?" Bee-Bee suggested._

"_Too high," Chasey responded, suddenly growing scared, pulling his legs up to his chest, "Adee, help."_

_What could Adam do? Why was Chasey asking _him _to help?_

"_Calm down, Chase-Wasey, Bee-Bee and Adee will gets you downses safe-n-sound," he finally decided._

"_Do we climb up?" Bee-Bee suggested, lowering her voice as if Chasey couldn't hear her- forgetting about his incredible hearing, "We could catch him if he jumps! What about Mr Daddy?"_

"_No, dat wouldn't work, he's working," Adam scratched the back of his head, then called up to Chasey, "Don't worry. We'll get you!"_

"_Take your time," Chasey called down, "I'll just be here."_

_Suddenly Adam had an idea, "Adee will be right back, don't move!" And he ran off to grab one of the lab benches. But on his way back he heard a blood curdling, heart stopping scream._

_Adam, needless to say, ditched the table and ran back to his siblings._

"_Eddy, gets Daddy!" he heard Bee-Bee screech in a tone he'd never heard her use before._

_Chasey was on the ground, lying all awkward-like, but looking like he was just sleeping. There was blood coming out of his head, Adam had seen that stuff before when someone had fallen and skinned their knees…..but this blood looked like too much for the magic band aid to handle._

"_He's not moving, Adee, he's not moving," Bee-Bee repeated, promptly bursting into tears._

_Adam couldn't understand why, he was just sleeping, wasn't he? What else could it be. He was had just hurt himself and was now sleeping on the floor...odd...but not bad or anything.  
_

"_Move!" Mr Davenport suddenly ran into the room and ungracefully slid down beside Chasey's head, "Oh no, no, no, NO!" _

_Adam had never seen either of his family members so distraught, so panicky, it was weird, what were they worried about?_

"_Is he gonna wake up?" Bee-Bee whispered, peaking down through the gap she made in her fingers. She had been covering her eyes for about a minute now.  
_

_Adam was about to respond, 'why wouldn't he wake up?' It was a silly question, obviously there was no chance that he wouldn't wake up…..that stuff just didn't happen…..Bee-Bee had been reading too many story books. When people go to sleep they wake up, didn't she know that?  
_

"_I'm not sure," Donald whispered, Bee-Bee didn't hear him, but Adam did, "Bree, what happened?" _

_Adam knew it was serious when Mr Davenport talked in such a hard tone, especially when he called them by their proper names._

"_He was just getting dust, Adee and Bee-Bee were trying to get him down. We were! Den Adee left and Chasey….Chasey gots scared, so Bee-Bee told him to try and come lower to the ground….But Chasey slipped! Chasey slipped all the way down and hit the ground! Now he's not moving and he's got blood everywhere."_

"_He was on the bookshelf?" Donald asked, taking in the nod from both his conscious bionics, before looking up and calculating the distance between the top of the bookshelf and the ground, "Okay. Did he land funny?"_

_Bee-Bee shook her head, "no, he just went," Bee-Bee slapped her hands together, "smack, like dat, on the ground."_

_Mr Davenport nodded, and began examining Chasey for any other injures, "he's still breathing, and there doesn't appear to be any other injuries. Adam, I need you to go stand his Chasey's capsule for me."_

_Adam didn't understand, but did so anyways. The next second Mr Davenport came across with Chasey carefully clutched in his arms, "Bee-Bee, open the capsule door," Donald instructed. _

_Bee-Bee did so and Donald gently lay Chasey against Adam, having his head loll onto his older brother's shoulder._

"_Dat doesn't look very safe," Bee-Bee murmured._

"_I know it's not exactly orthodox, but he needs immediate medical attention that can only be performed inside his capsule," Donald didn't even try to dumb it down for the sake of his kids. "Adam? Buddy? I need you to hold your brother, can you do that? Bee-Bee's going to shut the door and there's going to be some loud noises, but you'll be fine. I just need you to keep Chase upright, okay?"_

_Adam nodded as Bee-Bee shut the door and went to stand by their dad, who began rapidly pressing buttons. Mr Davenport was right, there was a lot of beeping and whirring, a funny smell and some misty stuff that went up his nose, but after about three minutes he felt his brother twitch in his arms._

_There was a moan and suddenly Adam could see Chasey blearily open his eyes, look up at him almost unfocusedly, and then shut them again. After a minute more the noises stopped and he could hear footsteps barrel towards the capsule._

_The door was wrenched open and Mr Davenport and Bee-Bee looked in, "Is he conscious?" Adam didn't understand, but Chasey must have, because he responded._

"_Yeah. Owww."_

"_Oh thank God!" Donald collapsed onto his knees and yanked Chase into a hug, probably a lot more violently than he should have someone who just fell from the top of a bookcase, "I was so worried. I thought we were going to lose you."_

_How could they lose Chasey? They never took their eyes off him!_

"_I'll go get a band-aid for your cut," Bee-Bee grinned, suddenly looking very relieved._

"_Now don't you ever –ever- do something so silly like that _ever _again, you got that Mister?" Donald continued, Adam chuckling at how many times Mr D said 'ever' in a sentence._

"_But I was getting you your dust samples, for your experiment," Chasey argued._

"_I don't care about dust samples, I care about you. The last thing I ever want to do is have to find you like that ever again," Mr Davenport murmured into Chasey's hair, "You are, and always will be, far more important than anything. I'd rather have a happy-breathing- Chasey-Wasey than a couple extra dollars in my pocket."_

_Bee-Bee came back and passed Donald the band aid over Chasey's head, Adam couldn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal. Well, until later when Bee-Bee took him to the side._

"_You do realise that Chasey might've died, right Adee?" Bee-Bee questioned._

'_Died', what was 'died'? So he asked._

"_Dying, as in going away, as in never waking up again," Bee-Bee prompted._

_Adam snorted, "Nooo, that's impossible."_

"_It happens all the time, why do you think Daddy was so worried?" This stopped Adam._

"_So Chasey could have slept forever?"_

"_Forever."_

_That was…..No. Adam could simply not accept that his baby brother could have 'died', that was unnatural. But if Bee-Bee and Davenport believed it could have happened, it must be possible. And it scared Adam more than words could say. Now instead of having to protect Bee-Bee and Chasey from getting hurt, he had to protect them from 'dying'._

"_Can you come back after you die?"_

"_No, you die for always."_

_And with death there were no do-overs or 'try better next times'. Death was gave-over._

And Adam had left Chase to die.

* * *

After Adam refocussed on the world around him, he heard Bree let out a breathy laugh, not unlike what _Chase _usually did when he was upset, "There's no way he'd still be," she choked for a second, "_you know_, if he were still buried under the snow…..and it's highly unlikely that he'd have been able to escape."

"What about all of your theories, come on Bree, don't give up on them now," Mr Davenport attempted a smile that looked far too forced, "Chase's smart. There's still hope."

"False hope," Bree countered.

"Who're you trying to convince?" Adam added, cocking his head to the side as he stared down at his father figure, "Us…or you?"

"_Adam."_

"This is your fault!" It was true, it was Mr Davenport's fault. They could still be searching now, they could have found him, Chase could be alright.

"We can't just turn on each other, Adam, we need to stick together. Now more than ever!"

"Because of you!" If Donald never decided to brag about his stupid gun, Chase wouldn't have run off into the storm.

The two continued arguing for the next three minutes, while Bree stood stiffly beside them, her eyes skimming over the contents of the room. Nothing had really moved, it was the same in-between room they always entered after getting of the aeroplane….but with only two newly returned mission bags hanging in the corner, it all felt and looked wrong.

"If I'd known….." she trailed off.

"If you knew what?" Adam snapped around to face his sister, who now wore an almost detached look on her tear stained face.

"If I'd known it was his last day I wouldn't have-"

"No," Donald cut his daughter off, "You're brother is right, this is my fault, if I hadn't brought up needing that Sitanium none of this would have happened."

"If we didn't keep going on about him being the 'weakest link' and teasing him about being unimportant he wouldn't have felt the need to go out there in the first place by himself," Bree moaned into her hands.

That stung, Adam had been trying to block all of that negative stuff out….and if they were playing the 'blame game' he'd much rather be the one firing, than the one getting shot down.

* * *

_Bree and Adam were surprised, to say the least, when Mr Davenport congratulated them on the mission, brought up their bionic combination instead of Chase's smarts. It was wonderful to finally receive praise from Donald after he always focussed his approval on the youngest Davenport._

_But then Chase just had to protest, wonder where his 'good job' was. It was like he needed to be told how spectacular he was every mission, otherwise he wasn't….Chase should seriously try being Bree or Adam sometimes, they'd gone weeks without receiving a note of approval from Donald._

_It was okay though, because the elder siblings didn't need to say anything to know they were having the same 'let's mess with Chasey' thoughts. It was always a fun bonding experience for Adam and Bree to unite over their love of picking on their little brother, because that's what older siblings do best, right?_

_And it was hilarious to annoy Chase by belittling his role on missions, mainly since it was so ridiculous. Chase was Mission Leader for crying out loud, he directed Hustle and Muscle and made them Bustle along pretty darn well…..Hah. Adam was funny. He didn't make much sense….but…..he tried, okay?_

_Their little brother was the micro organiser, the bossy dictator, the leader. But it was just so easy to tease him about being useless and unimportant, because for whatever reason Chase always grabbed onto the most outlandish things they said and took them to heart._

_Also there was the tiny, miniscule fact that it did wonders to boost both elder bionics' egos, self-importance and mood. But Chase just had to go complain to Mr Davenport._

_Now that part was annoying, he practically said that he never got any credit, and being Mr Davenport's favourite he immediately got Donald trying to placate him with soothing words about being flash glue. Never mind the fact that by making Chase feel better, he was demeaning Bree and Adam's abilities by calling them 'flashy', basically stating that they had no real substance and the two didn't have a mind of their own to direct themselves._

_That hurt, but it was okay, because they expected none-the-less. And besides, Chase seemed unimpressed, which he often was if his commendation wasn't satisfactory, so Adam quickly struck with a jab at Chase's 'all the work happens up here'._

_Now that was funny. Especially since they now had a new annoying nickname for Chase, 'Flash Glue', which honestly Adam and Bree couldn't find anything wrong with- they thought it was a massive compliment- but it irritated Chase, and that's all they were really looking for._

They never realised that Chase relied so much on their opinion, and couldn't rely on his own internal thoughts about himself, that he had to go prove the obvious to everyone:

1. That he was just as good as Bree and Adam.

2. He was reckless idiot when he didn't think things through.

* * *

Bree was drowning in her own feelings of guilt. It was all her own fault too. She wasn't a big sister anymore and it was because she deserved it. This was the Universe's way of telling her how much she had stuffed up and proving to her how truly unpredictable and uncertain even the most dependable things often were...like her baby brother.

A part of her mind told her that she shouldn't be selfish, this wasn't about her. She could make a lot of things about her, but her brother's death was something she simple could not center around herself. But telling herself that didn't help when it came to not thinking about herself.

When she thought about Chase she could feel it in her heart, she felt like nobody else in the entirety of forever had ever felt such pain and grief and guilt as she felt at that very second. But she knew that wasn't true, because Adam had been beside her in tears and Mr Davenport was obviously barely holding himself together.

Bree couldn't help but think about how easy it had all been to accept it, his death, she'd always been very good at accepting things with such absolutes as dying. But that didn't take away from her emotions, the fact that she'd never see her brother grow up beside her, they'd never enter that 'adult' stage where they actually expressed how much they meant to each other with words instead of actions that could be misconstrued and in apologies for things that shouldn't have happened.

He'd have never have had a proper relationship that she could help him with, he'd never come to her at night anymore after a bad dream or when something went wrong at school. They'd never both silently wonder why their family watched an inordinate amount of movies and covertly share a secret smile over it. She'd never make him another sandwich or force him to take his medicine or play 'Mummy Bree'. And she deserved it, she knew that, but she also knew that he didn't.

The Universe should have punished her alone, not her baby brother, he was innocent, but yet he was gone. How could that be? In what way could that be right? She tried to think of all the other near death experiences Chase had had, and boy had he had a lot, and how she always said, in the moment she thought was the end, how it was for the best and that he was in a better place. But now he was gone she couldn't take her mind off all of the new emptiness's in her world, to think about his.

Why did she have to be so selfish? So stupid and cruel and selfish?

If Bree hadn't played up the 'Flash Glue', if she'd been around for once instead of off in her own little world with her own insignificant tiny problems, then maybe she could have stopped him...or at least been there with him so he didn't have to die alone.

"Enough!" Adam finally called out, taking charge like Chase usually did, "This is getting us nowhere."

"He's right," Donald murmured, "Actually…_Maybe_…..No…" Mr Davenport trailed off.

"What?" Bree wiped her face, being drawn out of her own pity party, before repeating "_What?"_

Donald smiled, "Follow me."

It was funny how they danced around the topic. They all wanted desperately to believe that Chase would be okay, were already treating the situation like he was dead but carrying on like they had only had a minor setback in a small mission.

But at least they moved on from the waterworks fairly quickly. Mr Davenport had a plan, everything would be okay now that Mr Davenport had a plan.

Bree dried her eyes and took a deep breath, Donald thought he could save Chase, Bree knew that it was impossible for him to still be alive, but now was not the time to be selfish and cynical -she had to think about the other two and plastered a relieved smile on her face as she took her turn in humouring the two males with her. It's what Chase would have wanted.

* * *

"Don't give up guys, there's still a chance we can find him," Donald called over his shoulder as they walked into the lab, as if he wasn't panicking that he might have lost his youngest son. As if he were comforting _them._

Adam and Bree finished pulling off their winter wear as they entered the heated lab, where Adam swore he saw a ghost.

Actually….did ghosts work that fast? Did it take time to come back as a ghost, or was it one of those instantaneous things?

Either way, before him stood Chase with a perturbed look on his face. It was one of those heart stopping, lung flooding, head aching, throat lumping moments. Here his baby brother was, Adam could see him even though his brain kept telling him that Chase should still technically be in Antarctica. Half of his mind wanted to believe that it really was Chase standing by the bench, but the more logical part of his brain reminded him how impossible it would be to escape from all of that snow.

"Chase?" Donald finally spluttered.

Wait, Mr Davenport could see him too?

"You're alive!" Bree breathed, her face looking nonplussed over at her little brother.

Adam was about to leap forward, hug the brunette, scream out some unintelligible garble that expressed the emotions he felt…..but that was all cut off when Douglas appeared.

So instead of saying something heart-warming to his now very alive brother, he ended up pointing at the intruder and crying out, "It's evil Uncle-Daddy!"

Then….There was the sudden cold fear that replaced the numbness in his veins. Chase joining Douglas? No. He wouldn't do that. But the man practically had his arms around his baby brother's shoulders, and Chase was letting him.

'_This isn't Chase. Chasey wouldn't do that to you. It's not Chase. It's got to be some trick. Like a magic trick!'_

The two elder bionics chose to focus their attention on the volley of retorts being slammed across the lab between the two Mr Davenports.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Adam registered Leo running into the room, typically involved in his own little problem…..he probably didn't even get filled with any mind numbing relief when he saw Chase. He was just prattling on about the Freeze-Ray he was holding his hands.

But everyone naturally ignored his issue, and the conversation continued.

'_Wait, Douglas couldn't give Chase all three bionic abilities, could he?'_

But Chase opened his mouth and began talking, and it was him, it was his little brother -he could recognise his voice anywhere. And…he wasn't joining Douglas, at least that's what Adam got out of it.

"-What just took an hour and a half to download?"

"A list of everything Adam's ever eaten," Chase smirked.

It was strange how easy it was for his brother to say his name, it came out so casually, whilst Adam had been avoiding verbalising it for the longest while.

Wait a minute, "Not my Incredible Edibles!"

Then Chase started talking about them being a team, about never betraying his family, and Adam couldn't help but wrap his arm around his sister and nod along. What was he thinking? There was no way his brother would ever turn his back on them.

Douglas asked for a family hug and Adam was prepared to give him one, not because he thought he was truly asking for forgiveness or that Adam particularly wanted to hug his biological father, but because he deserved one for bringing his little brother home where he and Bree and failed.

But then Donald drew him back, and Adam could have sworn he saw Chase quirk a small smile at his seemingly impulsive, thoughtless antics. Then when Douglas raised his weapon, his baby brother froze him without a second thought.

The Davenport's climbed back up to their feet with shell-shocked looks of joy and stunned. Leo obviously broke the silence by continuing on with his own little problem, but he could be excused considering he walked into the problem and didn't know its severity. However nobody bothered dignifying him with an answer either.

Chase came across and apologised to Mr Davenport.

'_Okay….what about your siblings who risked their lives to save you and thought you were dead for the past x amount of hours?'_

Adam and Bree hung around behind him, waiting for their conversation to end, which it did after Chase produced a bag from his pocket, filled with the samples of fuel that made Donald squeal and do his 'money song', until he got a hold of himself and managed a sincere 'thank you'.

As soon as their father figure stepped away, Bree and Adam struck.

"Ah, guys, I can't –uh- I can't breathe. Oxygen needed. Guys?" But Chase's words were lost as his elder siblings trapped him in a 'Bionic Family Hug'. By talking it made them clutch him tighter, because he was real, he was there and he was _alive._

It felt as if the gravity of the situation had finally settled in, once it wasn't a situation anymore.

The longer and tighter Adam held on, the more the feeling of relief entered his body. His brother was alright, he was okay, everyone was okay. It was like mere minutes ago Adam had been cursing the universe for continuing on without someone as important as Chase, but now he knew that it hadn't.

* * *

Leo looked on in confusion as Bree and Adam effectively sandwiched and squashed Chase between them, "Uh, guys? You don't need to attack him, he's not a bad guy!"

But they were too busy muttering things only the youngest Davenport could pick up, holding him tighter, tearing up and….quite frankly, being almost creepily loving.

"Okay, what did I miss?" Leo turned to see that Donald was watching the trio, but instead of a look of confusion, he had a lazy smile adorn his face.

"Nothing, everything's fine now."

"Yeah….But what happen_ed_?" Leo added extra enunciation to the past tense in his question. But he didn't get a reply.

Bree and Adam finally released Chase, ruffling his hair and laughing with their arms slung around his shoulder.

"Are you quite finished?" The youngest bionic chuckled, but his face quickly switched back to being serious, "…..I'm sorry guys."

"We're just glad that we don't have to survive without our little Flash Glue," Bree replied, patting Chase on the back as the two bionics stepped away from their younger brother.

Chase rolled his eyes and gave one of those 'I'm not actually smiling because I agree with you' grins to his siblings, "Fair enough."

"Seriously, I know I missed- you know what, I don't really care anymore," Leo sighed.

"So we've got Hustle," Bree sung.

"And Muscle," Adam posed.

"And Mission Leader Chase," They both proclaimed together in the same tune, making the longer title fit.

"With a frozen Uncle Dougie," Adam continued.

"And a-"

"Okay, since when did this turn into a musical?" Chase interrupted, raising his hands in the air and taking a step back, "Because I'm more than happy to head back to Antarctica if this is how it's going to be."

But his older siblings grabbed an arm and dragged him back over, "No, we're just happy. Is that so bad?" Bree explained.

"When you guys sing off key, yeah, it sort of is."

He received two light slaps for that comment. Leo was still beyond confused, but he chose instead to duck between Chase and Bree, even though she shot him a pointed look –until she noticed Donald had moved on to pulling faces at their frozen father, which brought a look of thoughtfulness to her face.

"So, what are we going to do with a frozen uncle Dougie?"

And just like that things were back to how they were before. It wasn't like there was a massive sign, it just sort of happened, the mood shifted and everyone just sort of moved forward.

Not on, because that would mean forgetting what just happened, and none of the Davenport's were willing to do that (in fact Donald still needed to think of what he could possibly do with Chase now, he'd disobeyed orders and risked everyone, but he almost died and captured Douglas…so shouldn't it even out?)

But forward, passed that matter, back to how things were before the avalanche. Especially after Chase threatened to leave again if his siblings didn't stop staring at him, randomly tearing up or touching him…..because that was just weird.

* * *

That night, when the bionics were about to turn into their capsules Donald came over and quickly stole Chase away. Now the hype was over there was nothing stopping him from this...whatever this was.

"You're not about to suffocate me, are you?" his son questioned wearily, obviously thinking back to how Adam and Bree had clung to him tighter than anything had ever enveloped him before.

Donald shook his head and just looked at his son, took in his alive and alert eyes and the way his shoulders rose as he took in air...as he continued to live.

"I thought I told you never to _ever _do something like that, something so _impulsive _and _stupid _and _reckless_."

"So you're mad?"

"No," Donald started laughing, "I'm relieved actually, the most relieved I've ever been."

It was true, when he thought Chase was gone he physically felt his insides burn, his heart pumping empty pain instead of blood. When he thought that the little boy he'd raised was lost, all he wanted to do was...stop. Just stop everything. Stop breathing, stop thinking, stop _being. _Because he just could not imagine a world without his heir, his little scientist, his son.

Biological or not, Chase was his, and no parent could ever prepare for the death of their baby- the ones they watched grow- an irreplaceable source of emotional and practical support and pride. It was just...unnatural -unthinkable- Donald had planned out everything in his life, much like Chase he was a micro manager...and he always prepared for his kids to be dealing with the sudden uncontrollable grief of losing him, not the other way around.

The magnitude of the sudden loss had been crippling, even before Adam and Bree had given up, Donald had known that Chase was gone- as soon as there was no heat signature...he was caught amongst waves of intense shock, confusion and even denial- like he wanted to believe in his children's optimistic suggestions. But he had to be rational, he had to call them back, no matter their complaints. He'd lost one child, he didn't think he could survive losing all three.

He barely had the strength to breathe as it was, to do such a simple, supposedly automatic task took effort as every breath scorched a new trail of fire down inside his lungs. When he knew that his two remaining bionics were on the plane, he had pulled out the letter he had written for himself when he first took the experiments. That obviously offered no comfort, it basically said if 'a project fails' move on and take extra cautionary procedures to take care of the remaining experiments.

It made him sick -literally nauseous- to think that he had written those words down all that time ago. There was nothing there about how to deal with his emotions, his sudden welling feelings of loss and that, God, how he failed. He was supposed to keep them safe, he knew he shouldn't dwell on it, but he couldn't help it.

He could hear Bree and Adam via Bree's ComSet, hear her crying about not being a big sister anymore and Adam's almost emotionless voice as his eldest obviously tried to process the information and emotional overload. That broke his heart. But it reminded him that he had to be strong, so he cried. He screamed and went into a frenzy of breaking useless inventions and throwing objects mindlessly around to release his intense anger and feelings of bitter infuriating at the unfairness of it all.

He remembered thinking, "_I didn't ask for this. I didn't want to care about them. This is unfair, life is so freaking UNFAIR! This can't be happening. Oh God it's happening."_

Then, "_I've got to get this all out before they get back, they need me. Bree and Adam need someone to be strong -let it all out- you need to be strong for them, when they come back it's about them. Not you. Adam can't be the strong one, Chase can't be the mature on and Bree certainly can't be the optimistic one. Not this time. It's you. You've got to, be the father they deserve...for once be the bloody father they deserve."_

"Mr Davenport?" Chase's cautious words shook him out of his reverie.

Donald took a final look down at his son, clasped him on the shoulder and took a deep breath. Not even the longest hug in the world could express the emotions he needed to convey, the love he just had to show. So he hoped that this would work, that Chase would understand. By the look in his eyes, Donald was sure that he did.

"I'm-I-just get to bed, okay?" because he knew, Chase had always known.

His youngest nodded, and turned to leave, before spinning back around with a thoughtful look on his face, "actually...Dad...I was wondering..."

"Yes?" Donald jumped in too fast and abruptly.

"If maybe I could...I don't know...sleep with you tonight? I think I might need the extra support," he breathed.

"Yeah, of course Buddy, come on," Mr Davenport didn't even question it, just swung his arms around his son's shoulders and led him out of the lab, suddenly welling with relief that he didn't know he was holding back. He'd know Chase would be okay tonight, he'd be by his side, it would all be okay.

* * *

Before he left the lab, Chase sent a quick message to his siblings:

_Dad needs me tonight, see you in the morning.  
Chase._

* * *

**So, what did you think? Do you think you'd be interested in a couple of other chapters based off of episodes or not?**

**I think this is the longest chapter I've done so far...hmmm...And Chase only has like a line from his perspective too!  
This chapter had probably the most research behind it, I literally had so MANY tabs open on my laptop about grief and family death...which then made me REALLY emotional when I read some of the personal experiences...which lead to me CRYING and yeah (wow, emotion day for me, huh?)  
**

**Which just makes me INCREDIBLY proud of this chapter, which is why I REALLY HOPE you guys liked it...**

**Did you guys notice how everyone handled their grief differently? There's the research shining through ;)**

**1. It was Bree thinking more about the future and what she was missing after his death and how it was her fault (more her centered)  
2. Davenport being angry but knowing that he had to stay strong. Then having no idea what to do after Chase was alive, but not needing to because Chase knew that he needed him that night.  
3. Adam being in shock/ disbelief to numbness and then emotional overload where he accepted his brother's death and was in major half denial about it, which turned into him trying to find someone to blame. I was going to have him emotionless, like completely numb, but I decided not to, because he WOULD feel something.  
**

**Then Leo being completely oblivious because Bree and Adam left so fast after Donald was alerted to Chase being in Antarctica that he probably had no idea, so there was a slight outside perspective on 'what the heck just happened, everyone is weird'...actually that was basically all he thought...**

**Thanks once again for your incredibly kind reviews, you guys are FANTASTIC! seriously AMAZING!**

**Catch ya tomorrow, yeah? Bye!**


	28. Oh How Things Have Changed (Kid And Now)

**Hi everyone!**

**So check out who's back to their usual updating time, that's right I seriously could not do a repeat of the afternoon one...I tried and then the internet just distracted me!**

**Thank you all so SO much for you lovely reviews, seriously, they just made my day so much better and motivated me so much :) You're all SPECTACULAR!  
**

**Oh, **Unknown** -yeah, I was actually thinking about Leo when I wrote that line...I'm like 'Leo's not gonna be happy when he hears that he got cut out again' but then I decided to put it in anyways because Bree wouldn't think of Leo during that situation (and the Davenport's have this weird thing where they sort of close off when something goes wrong.) Thank you for your WONDROUS review! It seriously was like the highlight of my day :) My smile literally grew to this monsterous size while I was reading your review...there was also squealing...I thought you should know about the squealing.  
**

**thewriterswayoflife- I was literally I just felt so relieved when I read that you liked it! Ahh, thank you so much! WOW. Word's cannot describe how incredible your review made me feel, and makes me feel (considering I just re-read it) just...thank you so much :)  
**

* * *

**I don't own lab rats!  
**

**Okay, so this chapter basically has a bit of a then vs now (like a thing of them as kids, and then a thing of them now) I don't know...it's hard to explain...but it's got baby baby Chase, baby Bree and toddler Adam!**

**Also mentions of Douglas and yeah...**

**ENJOY!**

**Oh, since I don't want to italics it (sometimes I think that takes away from the story) I'm going to BOLD the first letter of the 'current/now' chapters for quick differentiation. **

* * *

"Who's that, Adam?"

"Da bay-bay."

"That's right," Donald smiled down at his eldest bionic, picking him up so he could get a better look at the little infant inside the incubator.

"He gave us a big scare, huh?" The man continued, allowing Adam to lean forward and place his tiny hand against the outside of the incubator's clear plastic. It was an almost daily ritual for Donald now, to take the young brunette over to see that his little brother was still safe and sound, every time getting closer and staying longer to placate the boy.

"Sma'," Adam murmured thoughtfully, just like he always did.

"Yeah, he is a little small, but he'll grow."

"Stuck," the toddler added, drumming on the box with his fist, which immediately caused Mr Davenport to take a large step back and reel Project A back in. Perhaps it was a bad idea to allow him so close to the incubator, he may be bionic, but he was still a toddler first.

"No, we don't bang on the glass Adam. He's not stuck, that's his bed."

"Bed?" The dark haired tot repeated, before shaking his head and giggling out a prolonged, "Nooo."

"Yes, Adam, that's his bed."

The boy in his arm's response was to point over to the two enclosed cots in the corner of the lab, "Bed."

How would he explain this to a child? Especially one so young.

"That's Bree's and your bed, but not Project C's. Not yet."

"Why?"

"Inquisitive today, aren't we?" Donald smirked, but after realising that his words were lost on the bionic, he answered the child's question, "Project C isn't like Bree, he came out early, so he needs to stay here to keep warm and away from germs. He was out of there when you moved homes, but that was silly of me for taking him out. Silly and dangerous. He needs to stay in here for a few more weeks."

"Da-ee kee' C wi'h us," Adam muttered out in a bitter tone.

"Well I'm not your daddy," Donald snapped back before he could help himself, which ultimately caused the child in his arms to start crying.

He kept forgetting that they tended to do that –temperamental little buggers, children were- his inventions were far less prone to such sudden malfunctions, and they could be easily fixed with mindless coding….stopping a child crying required more thought.

"No, don't cry, please don't cry," Donald began bouncing the child, which only made his howls louder. "Come on, it's not that hard. Just stop."

Adam's eyes were leaking all over his new shirt, and his loud wails seemed to be disturbing Bree in the corner of the lab, who was clinging on to a lab stool with one hand, with her other clutching the four dollar dummy he'd bought her from the service station last Tuesday. Her eyes were visibly distressed as she scowered the room for the source of such a noise.

"You're upsetting your sister," he tried in a stern voice, hoping a tone of authority would be effective, it didn't. But then Donald noticed the expression of discomfort on Project's C's face, and his voice turned slightly desperate, "and you're brother, Adam, Please."

This seemed to calm the child down, who after a few deep breaths managed to make a commendable effort in swiftly stopping his sobs.

"Da bay-bay?" Adam sniffed.

"Yes," Donald breathed, sighing slightly as relief entered his blood stream, "Crying upsets the baby too."

Mr Davenport had come to terms with it a long while ago that maybe he hadn't thought his impulsive grab of the three bionics through very well. He wasn't the 'parental' type. He went through these horrible thoughts about whether the bionics were indeed better off with Douglas or not, he -at least- certainly seemed to know what he was doing.

Donald didn't even have a proper play pin, the majority of things he had bought were arriving by airmail from a catalogue he stole from his neighbour's letterbox sometime next week. He had no idea how to take care of one child, let alone three!

Then there was the fact that one was starting to show noticeable signs of responding to the data on his bionic chip, one loved to wander off and another being premature and at risk of dying due to undeveloped lungs. Well, Donald knew that if he would have failed, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if any of them died within the first month of him having them. He took them so they could have a better life and be trained for good, not taken away to die from negligence and the idiocy of a man who thought raising a child would be the same as taking care of his virtual hamster.

* * *

**A**dam and Chase were currently insulting each other across the living room, Chase casually sprawled across the couch next to his step brother, while Adam was in the kitchen holding an almost protective stance over the left over lasagne.

"Oh that was a good one," Adam taunted, condescending smirk playing at his lips, in reply to his brother's quick word play, "high five…..oh wait…._low _five, sorry."

"Really? I think someone needs some new material," Chase scoffed, "But then again, it's not like I was expecting much from someone so….you know?" He offered a faux smile.

Adam gritted his teeth and took a step forward, "I'd punch you, but Mr Davenport taught me not to hit little girls."

"I'd insult you, but I think you're intelligence makes you look stupid enough as it is," Chase straightened up on the couch.

Leo awkwardly stared at the game screen, remembering the time he ended up getting caught up in one of the infamous 'Bionic Bro Arguments'…..it was a terrifying, emotionally scarring ordeal that he never wanted to relive ever again.

"Whoa, did you see that guy? You should plan an elaborate strategy to eliminate him before he even thinks about becoming a potential threat," Leo nodded encouragingly at the screen, but Chase ignored him.

"You little, dorky -" Adam started.

Chase interrupted, standing up and stalking over to the kitchen island, "You big, dim-witted -"

"Okay! Well, this was lovely, but I'm just going to….." Leo quickly stood, raised a pillow up to protect his face and ran.

He came back five minutes later, phone in his hand ready to gather film evidence so that he couldn't be blamed for breaking anything. He stuck his head in to check if the coast was clear to discover Adam and Chase lying against the upturned couch, covered in flour and laughing their heads off. Adam patting Chase on the back good-naturedly while the youngest Davenport shook flour out of his hair. Both still in hysterics.

Leo backed away…..obviously they had lost their minds.

* * *

"Home?"

Donald had been in the middle of dressing Bree in a new jumpsuit when Adam had come up behind him.

"Pardon?" He tried, even though he knew exactly what the eldest child was asking.

"Go home?"

Adam wanted to know when he was going home, no matter how many times Donald had attempted to persuade him that Douglas was evil and he never really had a proper home there…..Adam was insistent.

So Donald had cowardly hid behind excuses and distractions, "Hey…..Do you want to see how Project C is going?"

"Home."

"Not yet. Brother."

Obviously Adam had agreed, but refused to take Donald's hand when they walked over to the incubator…..Bree did however, but she never seemed to be quite in the moment as much, so that was probably more to assist her. Keep her grounded. Project B's mind was always buzzing, he'd conducted a brain scan out of worry that something was wrong with her, only to find the opposite –her brain was functioning just like the rest of her- phenomenally fast.

They quickly reached the incubator, which Donald dragged a chair over to and placed Bree and Adam on his knees, no matter how much a certain toddler grumbled. But Adam's entire demeanour changed when he saw his brother.

Bree wasn't that interested in Project C, he just sort of lay there, Bree was all about movement and needed constant stimulus, which she didn't get from something that usually slept. Adam was more interested, he was fascinated by the tiny creature.

"Are you going to say 'hi'?"

"Hi bay-bay," Adam waved, while Bree just regarded Davenport with an almost 'are you serious?' look.

"…..Do you want to hold his hand?" Donald was too scared to take Project C out, but perhaps a simple hand hold could suffice for the small toddler who was slowly forgetting about thinking about 'home'.

"Uh huh."

And so Adam ended up delicately clutching Project C's hand through one of the flaps, smiling in wonderment when his baby brother curled his fingers around his own.

"Look, Project C likes you," Donald smiled.

"Chh-hase," Adam correct absentmindedly, "Da-ee say Chh-hase."

That was right, Douglas had named the project already….but Donald was hoping he could change it, he wasn't very impartial towards Chase. He was thinking more of a 'Collin' like his good friend from University, but Adam was very adamant about keeping 'Chase'. So it was 'Project C' until he could convince the eldest bionic about a name change.

"Collin."

"He wikes Chh-hase," Adam argued.

"Oh, and you know this how?"

The eldest bionic glanced down at his younger brother, "I ca' tell. I ask-ed 'im."

"You asked him?" The man scoffed, Project C was a baby, a baby who had decided to be born before Douglas induced the birth…..far earlier. He showed no signs of what his bionics were, and Douglas had kept tight lipped. Project C didn't like 'Chase' -he had no clue what was going on- Project A did.

But then Adam looked Donald dead in the eye with an almost proud look adorn his round face and said, "Ch-hasey's smar'."

* * *

**T**he two Davenport boys were currently stuck down in the lab doing homework, not how most people wanted to spend their Friday night.

"What did you get for 7?"

"Adam, I'm not in your class –I'm creating a letter of application that suits the criteria."

"….Oh."

"Give it here," Chase snatched the piece of paper out of his older brother's hand, sparing a moment to glance down at the test, "It's 'E'. All of them are 'E'."

"All twenty-seven of them?" Adam questioned taking his sheet back, to which his younger brother nodded in affirmation. "Why?"

"Teacher's do it sometimes -see who goes with their gut and what they think is right," Chase shrugged.

"….Thanks," Adam smiled, circling all of the appropriate boxes. Silently wondering how his brother could just _know _so much.

"It's okay."

Adam was about to stand up and leave when he noticed the subtle way his brother was running his fingers through is hair, and thought better of it, "Trouble?"

"I've done all of the work, I just need a fake name but the best I can think of is Thomas, and I don't look like a Thomas."

"I don't know, you could, if you were blue and a train," oldest Davenport chuckled, before he shrugged, rolled his tongue around his mouth and then scrunched up his face, "What about Collin?"

Chase's head immediately flicked up, he knew that name, but he just couldn't place it, "Where'd that come from?"

"Dunno, but I think it sort of fits in a weird way."

"Yeah, thanks, you're right –it sort of does, doesn't it?"

"I just sa-"

"That was rhetorical Adam. But thanks," Chase ended the sentence with a small smile.

He stood up with his brother, glad he could now go and show Tasha his homework (who had had a major freak out about seeing them do their homework before they did anything else because of the documentary 'Teen Thug: A Life Story' she'd seen on TV which called not doing homework 'a gateway into hoodlum-ville.) Besides, he needed to help Leo hack into the mainframe for whatever reason his step-brother needed to. Chase gave up asking a long time ago, it made him look less guilty when dealing with the aftermath anyways.

* * *

Bree became far more interested in _Chase_ (Donald was still bitter about losing the 'Collin' argument to a toddler) once he was older and could bop around next to her. In fact, Project C was one of the few things she could happily stay focused on for more than a minute.

Adam, after spending a year and a half with Donald had grown to accept the fact that this was his new home, and had almost forgotten about Douglas….which was admittedly bittersweet…..the child still occasionally woke up and in a hazy confusion asked for or about him, but it never went passed that.

"Chasey, hop hop," Bree clapped her hands together as she demonstrated how to jump 'really high' to her little brother, demanding his attention.

Donald had to hand it to Chase, he was a fast learner. In fact, Mr Davenport was almost certain that Adam had been right when he said that Project C was smart- Donald would go as far to say that he had superior intelligence.

"Like this?" The youngest bionic copied his sister precisely.

He may have started talking later, but he began in full sentences and with such clear enunciation that it was sometimes hard to believe that he was the youngest…..well from voice alone. Appearance wise he was still tiny. He'd grown and was remarkably strong, but he was still far too small and weak for both Donald and Adam's liking.

Since Chase was premature, he was more susceptible to sickness, which worried Mr Davenport slightly. Sure, he was positive that he could easily move on without Project C, he'd be sad, but these things happen. It was the other two Projects who were growing rather attached. Occasionally Donald thought about separating them, just in case, but that would make him just as bad as his brother, so he kept them together against his better judgement.

Adam wouldn't let him either. He knew that the bionic now looked at him like a father….but he would never be parted from his siblings. He wouldn't.

Even now the eldest bionic was watching them, carefully out of the corner of his eye, just to make sure they were okay and that if they fell over –he'd be the first there.

* * *

**B**ree was on her phone, she wasn't texting anyone or on the receiving end of a phone call, she was just playing around with her settings –and bored out of her mind. She just wished that someone would text her already. Sure Hailey had messaged her five minutes ago, but that felt like a lifetime ago…..especially for someone who was also on the move, like Bree.

Sometimes it just felt like life was in slow motion, why did people take so long to do things? It was strange, they should be doing it as fast as they could, not _take their time._

"Hey Bree," even the way people spoke came out sloth like, lazy and paced.

"Chase," she acknowledged as her brother sat down next to her and began reading out of the mother of all books, "And what do I owe this…._pleasure?"_

"Adam and Leo took over the lab for 'Ultimate Soccer' I left before I became the ball," he explained, not even bothering to look up.

"Good call."

Chase confused her, he had so much potential, she could see how fast he read, could practically feel all of that potential energy surrounding him –practically _begging_ to be used- and watch his brain work just as fast as hers when he wanted it to. It was just so frustrating sometimes.

"Mmhmm."

The only female Davenport checked her Facebook and Twitter, watched a few YouTube videos and even had a bit of fun with Google images…..but then she just got bored of the internet. Eventually she just flipped back across to Facebook and began mindlessly scrolling.

"My friend has that," Chase murmured.

"What, Facebook? You make it sound like you don't."

"….Because I don't."

Bree silently began her round of thank you's for finally having a project, but verbally she gave a long winded sigh and tutted at her brother, before, "You know, I suppose I could always help you create one?"

"No thanks, I don't really want one."

"You sure?"

"Yep. I don't see the need, you know?"

"Really sure?"

Chase blinked at her, before he pulled his face up into a thoughtful expression, "Why not? Okay."

And so Bree logged out of her account and opened up a new one, helping her brother fill out all of the 'must haves' that he thought were really weird and personal, but put in anyway. They stayed doing that for about half an hour, getting lost in multiple conversations –until Bree's phone rang and her lagging phone delivered all of the text messages she had missed in the past half hour: 57.

"Sorry about that," Bree declined the call and turned back to Facebook.

"What about your texts?"

"They'll be there when we're done, but we still haven't put in your shopping preferences –now tell me Chase, do you prefer-"

"The second one," Chase answered, having already read the names over her shoulder.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow and shot her younger brother an unimpressed look.

"…Yeah?" It came out like a question.

"Are you sure you don't like- you know what, it's your Facebook page, whatever you want to like is your own business," Bree bit her lip and sighed….he was making a big mistake.

"Okay, 'like' the first one," he sighed.

"You do?" Bree misinterpreted what he said.

"No," Chase grumbled, "But obviously you want me to, so hit 'like'!"

* * *

**I**t was almost fascinating for Donald, who could clearly remember everything from day one, how different things were now….yet how they were the same too.

Bree had, years ago, slowed down long enough to discover that you don't actually have to live life like you're always in a hurry. Occasionally, sure, her mind did jump around a lot. However, her siblings, full blood and half, seemed to always be able to capture her attention for longer periods of time than anyone else, even keep her away from her phone, which was no mean feat.

And Chase, well Chase had continually had Adam from day one, who had always taken a special interest in making sure his far weaker brother was okay, especially after learning that his bionic ability was super strength, which he could use to protect his siblings. He had him wrapped around his little finger even before he'd done it all of those years ago, even though now his older brother was far more discreet about it.

And gosh, had that little premature infantile with the dodgy lungs grown up and become so much stronger and better than Donald could have ever imagined. He still remembered being worried about training him, now look, his son was in charge, the brains of the operation.

The only thing that didn't go to plan, and Donald found incredibly heartbreaking, was that his eldest, the one who he used to have such heated debates with…had slowly lost the bulk of his thought processes as his bionic chip required more and more brain capacity to maintain. But he remained loyal and faithful, with his moral compass always pointing right, and he was always so blissfully happy. Which proves that maybe sometimes brains are a curse, not an advantage.

But he supposed that at the end of the day -no matter what- his kids were still the same little ones he had wheeled into the lab inside a shopping trolley. And nothing made him prouder. They'd grown so much, and always found new ways to make him honoured and so very thankful that he decided to do what he felt was the right thing and save those three little bionic humans. His two incredible sons and one brilliant daughter.

They were going to forever be heading upwards and onwards…and always, _always _together. He could tell. Because they were family, and that's what family does best.

* * *

**So what did you think? Personally I didn't like the end (because I literally had no idea how to finish it off) but I hope you liked the chapter!****It was fun writing the jump between past and present** **:)**

* * *

**Oh and Donald is a bit weird in this chapter...mainly because when he first got the lab rats (in my story at least) he didn't love them like his kids, didn't think of them as his niece and nephews and took the whole scientific 'these are still subjects, but they are now mine' thing and 'I'm doing this because I feel like it is morally right' instead of because he cares about them. **

**But then if you've read this far you've seen how much he grows to love them as is own :)**

**I don't really know why I wrote Adam getting dumber as he got older...It just sort of happened and I liked it so I kept it. Same with Bree, she's got a bit of...I don't know, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? But then not at the same time...because she moves so fast that when really young I decided that it might be hard for her to focus on things for so long because she herself was moving so fast.**

**Then Chase is a premmi because it could make it make sense on why he is 'short' (I don't think he is, but anyways) and then why Adam can be a bit more protective, and Davenport has a soft spot for him (besides for the fact that they are so similar) because they remembers when he was this weak little thing. Also another reason why Adam calls Chase short, because he still remembers when he was so tiny.  
Oh and the lung thing is just something a lot of premature babies have a problem with (because since they were early they might not have had a chance to fully develop) but you can be perfectly fine once you're older.**

**Oh and I'm not sure what you guys might have in your country, but in Australia -premature babies go in these 'incubators' which is basically like a cot (crib) with a plastic roof and walls to cut out sounds (but not sounds proof I don't think), keep them in a sterilized environment and in a place with regulated heat (because they're not very good at controlling that). They stay in them for varying amounts of time and yeah...**

* * *

**Thank you so much for reviewing and reading this far, it means a lot! Like seriously, so much :) You're all FANTASTICALLY MARVELOUS!  
**

**What type of chapter do you think I should do next? Parental, Leo and Chase, Bree and Chase, Adam and Chase, Spike and Chase (or any combination new or mashed up)?**

**Catch ya tomorrow, yeah? Bye!**


	29. Making 'Blended' Work

**Hi everyone!**

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I had this chapter all written out but I didn't like it, so after some MAJOR editing I think I'm finally happy with it :)**

**OMG over THREE HUNDRED REVIEW? 310? OH MY GOODNESS! Seriously I had such a major freak out/ random squealing happy dance around my room when I read that! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You guys are like the epitome of all that is good and SPECTACULAR in the world! I'm just...WOW!**

* * *

**Okay, so this chapter is sort of like what zena moonbeam (I left out the dot, otherwise it would keep deleting your name and I don't really know why...) suggested, and sorta like what Unknown suggested too (don't worry Unknown, I have another chapter planned for the 'transition' I just wanted to show them all happy and co-existing :D) You guys are amazing! Thank you!  
**

**[ Oh and R5Auslly, I'm on it ;) ]**

* * *

**WARNING: No real warning, slight OOCness maybe?**

**So this chapter basically...well it's hard to explain. It goes sorta 'blended family' orientated to just fluff at the end. It's got lots of Tasha and Davenport, with of course Chase (Spike too!)...basically the whole family.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

After reading numerous books on the topic, Tasha decided that the role of a stepmother was both ambiguous and underappreciated. It had a bad name too, ever since Disney made millions from promoting that idea of the 'Evil Stepmother'. But she also deduced that she was unimaginably fortunate. So far she was yet to face hate from her husband's children, and, didn't have the problem with their biological mother causing her step-children to feel the need to pick sides. Leo got on famously with Adam, Bree and Chase and there were yet to be any major disputes over different household rules.

"Hey Tasha, do you know where everyone is?" Chase wandered into the living room, causing the woman in question to lose her train of thought.

"He took Adam and Leo down to the park," Bree supplied before Tasha opened her mouth, in between consoling Caitlin over the loss of her latest boyfriend via her mobile phone of course.

Chase let out some unintelligible grumbling as he sat down on the couch beside his sister.

"Didn't they invite you?"

"No….They never do," Tasha swore she heard Chase mutter a bitter 'not anymore at least' and 'so unfair' somewhere inside his mumbled reply.

She bit her lip but figured there was nothing to do but hum sympathetically and go back to her own thoughts.

Having everyone get on so well, Tasha silently added, didn't necessarily mean that there weren't still problems that slithered out through the cracks every so often to rear their ugly heads. Sometimes Tasha felt that, even though her organisational skills sky rocketed, her stress levels amplified as well -tenfold. She had four set of teenage problems to deal with now, not one.

* * *

Adam was currently on the ground wrestling with Donald's latest robotic invention, fork in hand brandished like a weapon. Bree was yelling across the table at Donald about not having a 'normal life or any freedom', which he allowed. Leo was covered in gravy and pieces of mashed potato -being collateral damage in the Adam vs Robot: Grudge Match- trying to collect bets on who would win. Chase was….well he was presumably still hiding under the table, which was probably the smartest option, while Eddy was screeching insults to the back of her head, trying to engage her in her own quarrel.

This was a 'normal' family dinner.

"-It's so unfair, do you see any other girl spending everyday with her brothers? No-" Bree was still moaning over the table.

Eddy's 'dulcet' tones could be heard squawking at her in the background, "-When you least expect it, I'm going to just destroyed all of your personal belongings!-"

When Tasha had come to the Davenport household with her son, and learnt about the bionic kids living in her basement, she always pictured things to be a bit different. Not so romanticised as just easier, less stressful, more calm and smooth. Cohabitating with children brought up on a different set of rules, trying to find time for her and her husband, while making sure her own son didn't get lost in the bustle of the extraordinary life they had stumbled into was extremely difficult.

Their dinners, for example, were always so much louder than she envisioned for an activity that only consisted of eating and occasion conversation. But that just stood to prove that the Davenport's had a different way of conducting their evening meal.

"-Gather round, ladies and gentlemen, take your bets: one dollar a wager!" Leo appeared to be completely oblivious to the drying food covering him.

The cacophony of voices and bangs continued on.

"-You know that Donnie doesn't need _you _right? He's got me, and I'm far more be-" Eddy tried talking louder to be heard over the commotion of the wrestling match.

"-I need my own space!"

"YOU DUMB ROBOT. WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?" Adam cried out in frustration, preparing to body slam the machine.

Tasha tried to continue eating her dinner, but that option was soon taken away when a robotic arm ended up in the centre of her plate, splattering her food in all directions. She gritted her teeth, but she didn't like always constantly having to refine her role as the main villain. So she let it go and graciously accepted the laughter that was now bubbling around the table at her expense.

Honestly, sometimes it felt like Tasha was raising five children singlehandedly –Donald was amazing with the kids, but he rarely enforced anything that didn't have something to do with bionics and left all of the harsh decisions and punishments up to her. It was aggravating and exasperating.

There was a tug at her sleeve, Tasha looked up, "Here you go."

Chase passed her a cloth to wipe the food off of her face, then a second to Leo. Adam gingerly took her plate away, tossing the gravy covered robot arm at Mr Davenport, not thinking about the bits of food that sprayed across the table due to that.

But at least now there was silence, until Chase brought up how long it took Adam to beat the robot, and the arguments started up all over again.

* * *

"Donald?"

"Hmm?" Mr Davenport looked up from his invention to see his wife standing before him with one of her parenting books tucked under her arm.

"We never laid out any ground rules for the kids."

"What? Did you read that in your parenting book? Tasha, I already told you, you don't need to read those things, we're doing fine."

"Donald, so far we've gone against everything this book has said. We haven't set any rules, we don't have designated and equal time spent with each teenager, we don't have family meeting –this is a complete disaster!" Tasha huffed, taking a seat down on the stool beside her husband, "Sometimes I just get so stressed that..." she trailed off.

Mr Davenport sighed, "Would it make you feel better if we had family meetings?"

The woman beside him perked up, "How about now?"

The inventor scrunched up his face, "About what?"

"We could use it as a time for discussion, you know, get everything off everyone's chest," Tasha was already standing up, broad grin plastered across her face, so there was no real way Donald could say no.

* * *

Chase and Bree made eye contact and nodded, they both mutually agreed that this was the most awkward situation they had ever been in. They were all lined up on the couch, with the two adults standing before them, having shepherd them all into the room. Leo was trying to disappear behind Adam, while the boy munched happily on an apple, completely oblivious to the oddity of the situation he was in.

Chase turned to see if they were going to get any support from Mr Davenport, but the man was too busy trying to surreptitiously glance at his phone behind his wife's back to be much help.

"Okay guys, let's start off our first family meeting," Tasha then glanced down at her parenting book, "Let's go around and introduce ourselves, I'm Tasha, Donald?"

"What?" Mr Davenport almost dropped his phone when he suddenly looked up to find his wife's eyes on him.

"Introduce yourself."

"But you ju-" Mr Davenport stopped when he saw the look he was getting from Tasha, "My name is Donald Davenport, and I am awesome, Bree?"

The middle bionic straightened up, "I'm Bree."

"I'm Adam!" The dark haired male beside her clapped.

"Leo," the boy waved.

"Do I really have to?" Honestly Chase couldn't think of a bigger waste of time, obviously Tasha was reading from the chapter that talked about the 'initial family meeting' the one before they knew who everyone was. But regardless he sighed and introduced him.

"**This is stupid."**

"_For once I agree with you."_

Tasha glanced down at her book once more, "Okay, now we're going to go around the circle again and state any questions we might have- Leo?" The woman paused, grinning when she noticed her son already had her hand in the air, "It's not your turn yet, but go ahead Sweetie."

Leo lowered his hand, "Can we go now?"

"We haven't even started yet!"

"But we know all of this stuff already, we've sort of been living together for months now," Bree chimed in, "And I'm pretty sure I know all my brothers' names."

Chase noted the way Tasha's face fell, and apparently so did his father, because Mr Davenport placed a hand on Tasha's shoulder and opened his mouth, "Come on guys, it's just an hour."

"An hour?" Bree repeated, obviously thinking about all the other things she could be doing instead of sitting on the couch trying to 'bond' with her family.

"Oh no, that's no good –I was going to go feed the ducks," Adam smacked his lips and sighed.

"The ducks can wait," Mr Davenport replied before turning back to his wife, "Go on Tasha."

* * *

"Okay, and now we moving on to unresolved conflicts," Tasha smiled, seemingly unaware that Adam had fallen asleep and Bree kept dashing off to check her text messages in private –but then again when a girl can super speed you don't really notice when they're gone.

"Anyone?" Mr Davenport looked around the room, pointedly ignoring his sleeping son and focusing on Chase.

"What?" The youngest bionic questioned.

His father shrugged though, and turned to rest his gaze on Leo Dooley.

"Big D?"

"Of course," Tasha exclaimed, "Leo, Chase, would you like to share with us."

The two boys looked at each other, sure they had their problems but they'd mainly overcome them, and the ones they hadn't they were quite happy resolving on their own thank you very much.

"We're fine," Chase scoffed.

"Totally tight," Leo added, before he leaned across and fist bumped his brother.

Tasha almost looked disappointed, "Oh -I know- what about Spike?"

If something could suddenly get everyone involved in the family meeting come bonding session, it was that.

"No way!" Bree flinched and used her slumbering brother as a shield in case Spike actually came out and went on a rampage.

"Keep him out of it," Donald agreed.

"JACKALOPE!" Adam suddenly started awake, took in the situation and added a, "Yeah!" for good measure.

"Spike, just no Mum, no," Leo shook his head.

"**What? Heck no!"**

"Spike says no," Chase voiced.

"Wait, you can talk to him?" Donald's head snapped across to his son.

"….Yeah," came the slightly apprehensive reply, "Didn't you know that?"

"This adds a whole new dynamic that I never thought about, sorry but I've just got to go and…." Donald trailed off, pointing to the lift, before he gave up, kissed his wife on the cheek and ran.

Tasha stood in front of the four teenagers she had sitting on the couch, before she sighed, "I suppose you all want to run off too, right?"

"We can stay if you want," Bree made eye contact with the reporter, knowing deep down that this session was about far more than just 'food menus' and 'family rules'.

Chase understood too. It was about order and learning everyone's new roles, growing closer as a family and giving Tasha back some of the control she must feel like she lost after she became caught up in an endless cycle of making food, cleaning, shopping and working.

"No, it wouldn't be fair keeping you guys here if Donald can just run off. Go. Be free," She waved them off with her hand, before shutting the book over and collapsing on a chair by the kitchen island.

Leo and Adam quickly scurried off before they were called back. After having to talk about their likes and dislikes, they both learned that they shared a love for snail racing...so that's presumably what they went off to do. Bree bit her lip, lagged around for a moment but ultimately stood and left.

Chase stood, then after shuffling around -caught in the cross fire of his own indecision- finally bit the bullet and went over to Tasha.

"Mum?"

"Yeah, Honey?" the woman sighed, but plastered a smile of her face anyways.

Chase scuffed his shoe on the floor, refusing to make eye contact, "I just wanted to say that you don't need a parenting book, it's filled with subjective information that can be completely ineffective on certain family groups. We're all fine. Sure we fight sometimes, but you'd be worried if we didn't, I mean statistically speaking there are exactly - I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Tasha gave a slight chuckle.

"I guess I just wanted to say that you're doing a fantastic job," Chase then nodded his head as if to affirm his statement, "I mean seriously, nobody else could just walk into a house like this and organise it like you did. You need to stop reading stuff on how to be a better parent, because you're already the best mum I know or could ever wish of having."

"You really think so?"

"…Yeah. Yeah I do."

"**Booorring!"**

"_Shut up, Spike."_

"**Can't you not go all girly when I'm in the room?"**

"_You're always in the room, besides, I'm trying to reassure her. Nobody wants to sit through another of those sessions ever again."_

"**That was my point, Fudge Bag, but whatever."**

* * *

It was a slow process, but eventually all of the parenting books were put away- cough, burned, cough- and Tasha could take a step back and take a look at her family. Sure they were dysfunctional, and certainly not the poster family for the perfect blended bunch, but they made it work so effortlessly.

She counted her small blessings. Tasha had a husband who loved her and no matter how clumsy her son was, they now had enough money to fix anything he broke. He also had friends now, Bree was right that night at dinner, not many other people spent their days with their siblings...so she was so proud that her's did.

Right now said middle bionic was with her, as Tasha was helping her step-daughter get ready for a date. Tasha had always wanted a daughter she could buy clothes for and share make-up tricks with, and now she had one. That was probably why she spent a lot more time with Bree, even taking her shopping on numerous occasions to buy new clothes.

Donald was with Leo in the lab, they were talking about comic books and movies. Mr Davenport had learned during the 'family meeting' that Leo's father had recently sold their old house and was moving states, so whilst talking to his step-son, he was setting up a wireless Skype like device that would allow Leo and his father to probably talk more than they did now.

Then there was Adam and Chase watching a some documentary on TV, not Adam's first choice, but he was making up for ditching the youngest Davenport to hang out with his other little brother, which he discovered made Chase feel left out sometimes.

"This, or this?" Bree held up two dresses in front of her.

"Hmm, the first one, then I can match your make-up to it."

* * *

Adam was asleep, because apparently feeding the ducks took it out of him. Chase wasn't sure whether it was the feeding of the birds -or the fact that Adam liked to chase them around in a desperate attempt to join their flock- that made him really tired.

Either way it was perfect, because the youngest Davenport could talk to his counterpart without any interruptions, and he knew deep down that he needed to.

"_Uh…Spike?"_

"**Yes, Oxygen Thief?"**

"_You...don't like Leo," _Chase cautiously whispered back to his aggressive other half, who was currently being distracted by the National Geographic channel's love of showing animals eating one another.

"_**No really?" **_Came his alter egos caustic reply, "**Want a gold sticker for that deduction? You fugly lummox."**

Chase had gotten used to the insults, he liked to look at them like little terms of endearment, so he continued the conversation, "_Why not?"_

"**Reasons."**

"_Care to elaborate?"_

"**Nope."**

So he mightn't be that helpful, but at least Spike was so engrossed by the television that he himself hadn't wanted to cause any violent acts or breakages, or demand that they watched another 'less educational' station.

"_Can't you at least…I don't know…..Try to?"_

"**You."**

"…_.What about me?"_ Maybe they were getting somewhere.

There wasn't any reply, _"Come on you…..Smelly Sock."_

"**That was pathetic."**

"_Yeah, I know, but seriously, just a little bit more that 'you'."_

Chase could feel Spike finally giving in, but before he could elaborate, the far-too-violent-for-television animal show decided to end, causing Spike to let out a gleeful chuckle and sing out a:

"**Question times over, **_**Chasey**_**."  
**Before shifting back into the deep recesses of the bionic's mind.

But Chase had been given a look inside the frankly terrifying thought pattern of his counterpart, so Spike didn't like Leo because of him? Chase could work with that, he could get to the bottom of it so he could finally get Spike and Leo to reconcile their differences and become the brothers he knew Tasha was hoping they'd be.

Even though admittedly 'brothers' was a bit of a stretch…..Tolerable housemates was Chase's goal.

* * *

Donald and Tasha were the last ones awake, curled up on the couch watching the last five minutes of some sugary romantic comedy.

"I think we've done exceptionally well, don't you?"

"Hmm, one hundred percent," Tasha murmured in agreement, looking up from the screen.

"I mean it's kind of hard not to be when you're this good-looking, smart, charismatic and good with kids," then by the look his wife shot him, Donald lowered the hand he was gesturing to himself with and added an, "and…her husband…"

"Nice save," Tasha elbowed the man beside her as the credits started rolling.

Donald stopped the film and turned the TV off before standing up, "I thought so too, I suppose it comes with being as awesome as I am…because let's face it, you scored a pretty amazing billionaire husband."

"And you 'scored' a pretty tolerable wife," Tasha hummed, smirking up at her husband, before she too stood up and stretched.

"That's not even the half of it," he murmured, throwing his arm around her shoulder as they made their way to bed, "we make a great team."

"That we do."

* * *

Mr Davenport had spent the last five minutes trying to get comfortable on his side of the bed, one of the many reasons he hated it when one of the kids decided to bunk with them was that they always messed up the mattress. He didn't know how, but they always managed to make it feel lumpy with their mere presence alone.

Let it be known that besides a few _very rare _occasions, Donald didn't like anyone but his wife sleeping in his bed. And sometimes he could barely stand her if she decided to encroach on 'his side of the bed'. But at least she was nowhere near as bad as the bionics or Leo.

Adam would kick and snore, Bree talked and managed to be a blanket hog –even though she was always in the middle of the bed. Thankfully they only stayed once each, wanting to see what the fuss was all about before deciding that sleeping horizontal was just 'too weird'.

Leo would attempt to lie horizontally over the bed, virtually pushing the man out of his own king-sized bed and Chase would cling and practically lie on top of Donald in deep slumber. They were more common boarders. It was a surprise that Tasha never said anything, but she always managed to sleep through their visitor's stay, lucky woman.

After a couple of months, Mr Davenport developed a theory that Leo and Chase had broken it down into a schedule, dictating who would sleep with their parent and step-parent on what night…..Because the fact that they never had any double ups was just too opportune to be anything but planned.

"….I thought you said Leo grew out of sleeping with you," Donald huffed when he finally fixed up the mattress.

Without missing a beat, his wife replied, "I thought you said that Chase was only a one-off."

"Touche," Donald bowed his head.

It was surprising the first time Leo clambered into bed, slightly odd, but he couldn't complain- Chase slept with them even more. Then again at least Leo looked embarrassed, Mr Davenport was slightly worried that Chase was starting to treat it like a right. Leo was also better to bunk with, considering he didn't always sleep in the middle of the bed, opting to usually push Tasha towards Donald and sleep on the side.

But either way, it was like there was this cone of silence that gave everyone the inability to discuss their nightly 'rituals' or sleeping location once it was daylight, Donald had only brought it up to Tasha once, who replied that it was one of the joys of being a parent. Knowing more about your kids than you were willing to say.

"….I think it's because it's a new house, new people, the familiarity is appealing, you know?" Tasha admitted in maternal defense for her son.

Leo, although he tried to deny it, dearly missed the old two bedroom apartment he had lived in for the past fifteen years of his life. Sure the Davenport house was beautiful and contained things that he'd never in his wildest dreams have imagined possessing, but it still wasn't _home. _Not yet anyways. In a few months Leo wouldn't even dream about sleeping anywhere near his mother...But right now? That was a completely different story.

"Hmm, well at least Leo has an excuse, Chase is just overbearingly clingy."

"You'll miss it when he grows up," Tasha warned.

"What, getting fitful sleep because I have this limpet fastened to me all night who never addresses why he can't just sleep in his capsule? I don't think so," Mr Davenport snorted.

Deep down though, he knew he would. It was sort of nice to have at least one of his kids still dependent on him for more than just money and transportation.

The couple sat silently beside each other in bed for a moment longer, "Hey, I wonder if we get a night to ourselves or if-"

"No, it's the second Tuesday of the month, we get Chase," Tasha interrupted nonchalantly, not taking her eyes away from the crime novel she was poring over.

"I knew they had it down to some sort of timetable!" Donald fist pumped up with glee that he was once again right. He was just that awesomely smart.

"Yeah, Chase made varying colour coded tables and things –they're hung up inside the linen cupboard for reference," Tasha hummed.

Donald rolled his eyes, obviously there would be charts, tables and graphs if his youngest bionic was involved, "So you just stumbled across these?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed in affirmation, "But I saw them divvying up the days in 'secret' before it was put down on paper. It was rather adorable how covert they were trying to be," Tasha giggled.

"I'm not really sure either would appreciate being placed in the same sentence as the word 'adorable," the inventor drawled across to his wife, who merely shrugged.

"It's true though," she looked across at the alarm clock, "And expect Chase in half an hour," Tasha shut her book, leaned across to kiss her husband and then lay her head down on the pillow.

"They organised times?"

"Naturally."

Even if it kept her and her husband up sometimes, and was questionably inappropriate for their ages, Tasha was glad that they had come together for that one afternoon to professionally work everything out so there would be no problems.

It was nice to think back on how oddly cool the two boys had been, sitting by the coffee table drawing out rough plans….then afterwards immediately tucking the paper away and turning back to their video game like they hadn't left it for the past twenty minutes.

* * *

Chase did come in that night, crawling tentatively up under the blankets. Despite his grumbling –Mr Davenport wordlessly opened his arms to his son for the embrace he'd only ever get at night, when Chase curled up against one of the two.

"Night Buddy."

"G'night Mr Davenport."

Tasha raised her head slightly from the pillow, "Sweet dreams, Chase….Good night, _Mr_ Davenport."

"Good night, _Mrs_ Davenport," Donald chuckled.

"…..Do you two want me to leave?" Chase joked.

The two adults chuckled, and the youngest bionic ended up getting his hair slightly ruffled by his father.

There was a moment of silence, "…Spike says goodnight too."

"Great," Donald mumbled, not really sure how to respond.

"Night Sweetheart," Tasha called out louder than strictly necessary to the boy inside her step-son's head.

"Well technically he said 'shut up you odious twonks, I'm trying to forget where this imbecile took me and you're making it difficult'….but 'same dif', right?"

"Sure," Mr Davenport snorted.

"Oh, he saying goodnight to Tasha too, he hopes you don't wake up with a sore neck."

"That's…nice, Honey. I'll try not to."

"Did he say anything else?" Donald sighed, shifting slightly to get more comfortable.

Chase hummed, "Yeah…..But it's not really that appropriated."

Tasha yawned, lying her head back down, "And on that note I think we should all turn in."

Chase seemed to agree, "G'night Mr Davenport, g'night Tasha."

"Oh not again," Donald huffed, "Yes, we've all already said goodnight, now sleep."

There was another moment of blissful silence.

Naturally Chase just had to break it, "…Spike said-"

"Spike can go sleep outside if he doesn't shut up," Donald warned.

"We'll be quiet."

"I'm glad."

* * *

**So what did you think? I swear I had like 50 tabs open on 'blended families' and they were all going crazy about 'if they don't like you' or 'if they don't get on with your children' and I'm just sitting there like 'gosh Davenport's why do you all have to get along!?'**

**(If you were wondering how it does, the ending bit sort of connects because it's got Leo and Chase bonding over who sleeps when and, of course, parental fluff.)**

**The next chapter I've decided to probably put in Chase's POV because the past few chapter's haven't been...or don't focus on it...so yeah...**

**Any requests for what type of chapter you feel like? Or just random?**

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**CHARACTER EXPLANATION TIME (Insert catchy jingle here):**

**Okay, so in this chapter I decided to make Tasha be all 'I want a perfect family' because if you think about it -she doesn't get involved in mission...all she really does is be the mum/ wife they all come home to, so she'd try to make sure she was doing a good job at keeping everyone together (even though they weren't actually falling apart). Also things have got to be a bit hard on her, she moved into a new house with her husband and suddenly acquired three more kids, then to have to try and work out how to manage them...jeez...**

**I decided to stick Spike in there again because I enjoy writing him...and looking up insults...basically his whole bit with Chase is the foreshadowing for another chapter I've got planned, that fabled 'Leo and Spike sort things out (or do they?)' one.**

**Chase appears a lot because the story is centered around him. Adam was sort of jumping between Leo and Chase, wanting to hang out with his new brother (at the start of the chapter) ...but during some unwritten part in the 'family meeting' heard that by doing so it was having an effect on Chase.**

**Leo, okay, so Leo sleeps with Tasha and Donald sometimes because even though they never really talk about it on the show, the Dooley's did sort of just up and move houses...sure the place is great...but still. Then we as humans are often more vulnerable and susceptible to our emotions at night, so he'd go seek out his mummy because he needs some familiar thing from home.**

**Donald is just there, trying to keep up with everyone.**

* * *

**Once again, thank you all so much for your reviews. I simply cannot begin to express how fantastic they all make me feel...seriously if I wrote out individual comments I'd practically write a story for each one...THAT is how AMAZINGLY happy and GRATEFUL I feel due to you guys being so TERRIFICALLY KIND and STUNNING!**

**Catch you tomorrow, yeah? Bye!**


	30. Growing Up Is Not A Race

**Hi everyone!**

**I'm so sorry I didn't post yesterday, I'm in the middle of packing to go spend a bit of time with my dad, so things are a bit haywire at the moment.**

**Anyways, OH MY ACTUAL GOSH! 320? THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY? You guys are just...WOW. Thank you all so, so much! I swear when ever I get a review, I automatically get the biggest smile on my face, then as I read it, it grows bigger and bigger! Thank you for reading this story so far, it really means a lot. You FANTASTIC, WICKED (the good wicked) simply BRILLIANT people :)**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats.**

**Okay, so I don't think this chapter needs a warning. Basically it's about Chase and why he's been acting a bit childlike sometimes in this story...but is basically about his thoughts on growing up.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

When Chase was six he had begun taking the dictionary to his capsule, not unlike a small child would their favourite fairy-tale. By the time he was eight he knew all about business and money, taxes and mortgages. Then at the age of nine he was introduced to the stars, they offered a sweet distraction to the utter calamity he could see occurring in the world around him, they were a pretty solace he couldn't help but become enchanted by.

By eleven science was his language and maths formulas were as easy to recall as song lyrics –logic swum in his veins and he wouldn't have it any other way. Thirteen was a tricky year, he could feel his body begin to change and the hormonal imbalance he was experiencing taking a slight toll on his daily activities. But by now his siblings already looked to him as their unquestioned wealth of knowledge, their voice of reason and trusty calculator.

Now he was fifteen, he had regressed in some areas while being far more advanced in others. For the first time in forever, Chase had first-time experience on what he had truly missed out on while hidden away in the lab.

"You never blew bubbles?" Leo could barely contain his surprised laugh "Did Big D keep you in a lab, or under a rock?"

Chase had laughed at that one, but then Leo continued.

"You guys never got up early to watch cartoons? What did you do?"

"We played a lot of tiggy and hide 'n seek, trained and read a fair bit," Chase supplied.

"Did you read Goosebumps?" Leo asked, growing slightly excited.

"What?"

"….I'll take that as a no then."

After that, all Chase could do was think about all of the things he must have missed out on and what life would have been like if he'd grown up in a more conventional setting.

He started doing what most would, clutching on to those small objects or actions that connected him back to that rite of passage he'd been short changed on, working slowly to repair the infinite damage caused by being forced to grow up to fast.

He played videogames, something that he had known about as a child, but he held no interest for. He began looking to Donald and his siblings for more guidance and attention, something he didn't really used to do….because he was so sure of himself then. Now, not so much.

"Hey, Mr Davenport, are you busy?"

"No, what's up?" The inventor spun around on his chair.

"I was going to head out for a bike ride -Adam's busy, Leo said no and Bree's at Caitlin's-and I was wondering if maybe…. you wanted to come?"

Before Chase would never have asked anyone to participate in any activity with him, he was independent like that….but not anymore, now he looked for activities that could be done together with others.

"Well, I'm not the best bike rider, but what do you say to a trip in the helicopter instead?"

"Sounds great, Mr Davenport," Chase smiled.

It was actually rather funny when he thought about how ignorant he had been before he realised what he was missing. But none of that mattered now, right? He could have a second chance now. He'd been given a new start with a mum and his father was actually acting more like a dad now than their trainer and carer….Maybe it was for a reason.

(At least that's what half of his mind said, the other half had developed far more….and it knew the true reason for this sudden regression.)

* * *

When you're a little kid, you believe the sky's the limit, there is nothing you can't do or be, nowhere you can't go. You believe in magic and fairy-tales, everything is a possibility. But then as you grow older you realise that the world isn't designed to be some extension of a story book. The reality of the universe hits you and you realise you can't be all you wanted to be, you can't do all you want to do and you certainly can't go wherever you want.

Bree asked him if he understood that by suddenly picking up a 'kiddy novel', it by no means re-wrote his childhood. He replied that he did, because he never had the luxury that his siblings did.

From the start Chase had known about the violent, unfair, too small world. He knew that try as hard as you might, sometimes people are too broken to fix and happy endings aren't always set in stone.

"I made a mistake. I tried to grow up too soon, I thought that it was the most logical option –why run from it when I can prepare myself?" Chase had chuckled.

"What are you saying?" Bree had her arms crossed, eyebrow raised and voice suspicious.

"In two years I'll be walking down Mission Creek High's hallways for my last time, no more homeroom or bells, I'll be getting a job and living in my own house, I'll be driving myself around and buying my own food. I've always known that."

"So?"

"So maybe I don't want that anymore."

"Chase-"

"Bree," he countered, "Please, just let me do this."

"…Okay," his sister replied unsurely, but none-the-less she had turned on her heels and left.

* * *

How can you want something you know you can't have? But then again, that was Chase's entire life, wasn't it?

As a child he had tried so much to act like Mr Davenport, to follow in the footsteps of the adult he knew he would one day turn into. But now that he was starting to hit that age where he was expected to act like he had when he was seven, he couldn't do it. He wanted back, he was wrong. Growing up is not fun.

"_Hey Chasey, what are you doing, Buddy?" Mr Davenport bent down beside his youngest son._

"_I'm doing taxes," Chase replied, not looking up from the pile of forms and receipts in front of him._

"_Uh….Why?"_

"_Practice."_

_Donald bit his lip, "Wouldn't you rather go play with your brother and sister?"_

"_No."_

"_Why not? It looks like fun," honestly it didn't, Donald had no clue what his elder bionic children were actually doing, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, so he filled his voice with as much gusto as possible._

"'_Not important," came the flat reply._

"_Yes it is, Chasey, you can tell me anything," Mr Davenport tried to reassure his son._

"_No," Chase shook his head, correcting his father, "what Adee and Bee-Bee are doing is unimportant, I'm a big boy now, I don't need to play silly games anymore," The youngest bionic looked up and made eye-contact with his father, finally looking away from all of those numbers and figures.  
_

"_Okay then, if you say so," Donald shrugged, before standing up and leaving his eight year old to work out his taxes for him. In the back of his mind, he knew that it was wrong, but who was he to judge what was fun for the smartest person alive?_

_If only Chase had added in the line he left out, "I need to grow up", then maybe Mr Davenport would have known something was wrong._

Now Chase was heading towards the age of work and taxes, bills and credit cards, he realised that growing up isn't as good as some make it out to be. It's not just about gaining respect, an opinion people listen to….it's about losing things as well.

Friends turn to enemies, they promise they've "got your back" but aren't afraid to stab you in it as well. Chase once didn't care what people thought of him, smartness was who he was, just like Bree was speed and Adam was strength, but now he did. Like at the dance after his embarrassing dance, or during the talent show when things went wrong and Spike stepped in.

Chase wanted to go back to when running out of reading material was the worst thing that could have happen, and, when his biggest enemies were his brother and sister, until they stopped playing and would go back to being on his side.

* * *

"Hey Chase," Adam sidled past his brother, backpack slung over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

"Where are you going?" Chase called after him.

Adam paused, "There's a sale on left handed scissors at the mall, I'm stocking up."

"….But you're not left handed."

"Yeah, but I might be one day, you never know with these things," Adam replied with a sincere look on his face, "Then I'm going to go get some ice-cream….because it's ice-creamy."

Chase nodded, biting his lip, "Yeah, it is. So, do you…..want any company?"

Adam shot his brother a cautionary glance, "…Okay?" usually Chase would be working on his extra homework now –him now asking the teachers for extension tasks- but if he wanted to tag along he was welcome.

"Great, let me just grab a jacket."

* * *

The two boys came back inside, eating ice-cream and laughing at a joke neither of them really understood.

Chase half loved- half hated his time spent with Adam. His brother was a true testament to the 'growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional' philosophy which Chase couldn't stick to. Growing up was mandatory for him, especially since he could never escape the harshness of reality.

But the youngest Davenport was jealous, Adam just glided through life without a concern for anything, he was completely oblivious to almost everything that Chase couldn't seem to forget. It was a wonderment and miracle that he had made it so far so truly unaffected.

"Hey, later I was going to go build a fort, wanna help?"

Chase grinned, "Sounds like fun," Adam was good, he didn't question why his little brother was suddenly so accepting of all the things he used to reprimand him for.

If Chase hadn't stopped Adam jumping in the fountain, it might be another story, because there was no way Chase would ever let him do that. But he didn't, so maybe his brother had finally come around and decided that being a know-it-all wasn't fun.

* * *

When Chase was eleven, Donald had sat beside his youngest son as he looked on, engrossed by all of the formulas and theories written down in one of the thickest books Mr Davenport had ever seen.

"Hey Buddy," he finally murmured, knowing that his son would both hear his hushed words and roll his eyes over the fact that, even though he was yet to show any signs of it, he was already aware of Donald's presence beside him.

"Hello."

"Don't you maybe think that maybe it's time for a break?"

"Not particularly, I'm reading at a pace that is optimal in promoting a long term reading gauge before my brain loses some of it's focus."

"That's not what I meant, you know you don't have to work all the time, right?"

"Duh," Chase looked up, "I enjoy reading though. This stuff interests me," he tapped the page below with his finger.

Donald looked down and saw elaborate equations and methodology written down on the page, and it did not look like fun at all. In fact, it looked more like assigned work.

"You do realise that growing up is supposed to be a journey, not a race, right?" Mr Davenport clasped Chase's shoulder.

"And that is relevant how?" His son shot him a confused look, before his eleven year old eye's wandered back down to the book below him.

Now Chase wished he had heeded his father's words, because growing up is not something that can be undone.

* * *

Tasha was in the kitchen when Bree approached her, "Hey Tasha?"

"Yeah Sweetie?" The only other female in the house looked up, always happy to talk to her 'BFF'.

The bionic bit her lip, before leaning in, "I'm worried about Chase."

This caused Tasha to immediately stop unpacking her shopping bags, she froze and immediately started speaking in a tone riddled with panic, "What, is he okay? He's not hurt is he?"

"No, no," Bree waved her hands out in a definitive motion, calming Tasha only slightly, "he's fine. But I think he's scared."

"Of what?" What could Chase possibly be scared of?

"I think he's scared of growing up. Or the reality that he actually is."

And she was right, Chase wasn't only trying to go back over all the things he thought he missed out on, he was petrified about the fact that all of those things he used to research would become him. That far off world would become his reality.

And he would have nothing to think back on, no good memories of a rebellious teenager or adventurous child to bring up when he was old and had time to reminisce. All he would have was no different than who he was now, someone so determined to grow up that they put logic and learning above everything else. Not for pure enjoyment, but because they were beneficial for his future and his career path.

(But at least through all of it, he still loved the stars. That was probably the only thing he held onto, his dream of travelling through the galaxy.)

* * *

Chase was currently sitting on the couch with Tasha petting his head, him being held in a hug that he was too shocked to break.

"It's okay Honey, it's okay," was all she kept repeating.

"Uh, Tasha?"

"It will all be okay, I'm here, you'll be okay," her tone came out soothing, her words calm and laced with reassurance….if only Chase knew why he was being reassured.

"I feel like I'm missing something."

"There's nothing to be scared of, it's okay," she continued on, completely oblivious to her step-son's commentary.

"Uh, Tasha?" Donald appeared at the top of the staircase, having been in his room full of mirrors admiring his new shirt.

Naturally, the woman turned around immediately when someone else spoke.

"What's going on? Chase, are you okay?" Mr Davenport sounded slightly concerned, noting the way his wife was comforting his son.

"I'm fine."

"I don't think so, Donald," Tasha called over the top of the bionic in her arms.

"Bree?" Mr Davenport turned to his daughter, who was sitting by the kitchen island seemingly overlooking the exchange with mild curiosity.

"Depends. _I _don't think he is, but….you know," came Bree's reply, accompanied with a slight shrug as she sipped at her drink through a pink straw.

"What? I'm perfectly fine, Mr Davenport, can you please get your wife off of me?" Chase tried, before adding a, "She's touching my hair."

After about three and a half minutes of hushed arguing over Chase's shoulder, which he could hear every word of, Tasha finally released her vice-like grip on him and Donald came to sit beside his wife.

"Is there something you want to talk about Chase?" Mr Davenport clapped his hands together and looked at his son expectantly.

Obviously Chase had heard Tasha admit that she was concerned that her step-son had developed a fear of dying, or something ludicrous like that, and now Mr Davenport wanted him to admit to it. Which he wasn't about to, because he had no real qualms with dying, everybody did it.

"Not really, no." _Yes, yes there was, but I have no idea where I can possibly start, and how to mould twenty six letters into the perfect sentences to explain to you what's on my mind._

* * *

Obviously Tasha wouldn't leave it alone, so Mr Davenport felt compelled to stay, so did Bree, who was the one in the end to shove the conversation forward. Then carry it, because nobody else seemed to be able to.

"Chase isn't scared about dying, he's not that kind of person, no, Chase is scared that he's stuffed up his life. That all he has left to do is grow up."

The brunette on the couch didn't deny it.

"Wha- Chase, that's….._illogical,_" Mr Davenport finally breathed.

"Not really, no," Chase replied, "Technically speaking, I lived my childhood devoted to acting older, and now I'm on the brink of being old," both Tasha and Donald scoffed at the casual use of the word 'old', "I realised that I don't want that. I just don't."

"Oh, well," Tasha straightened up, "That's normal."

"Pardon?" Chase made eye contact, suddenly hoping that he wasn't on his own with his feelings.

"Oh yeah, every kid feels like that at some stage in their lives -not wanting to grow up- it's completely normal," she waved her hand in a dismissive motion, letting her tone grow light with relief.

"I was thinking more about the ruined childhood part," Donald murmured, "Chase, your childhood was fine. You had a good time, always reading and learning –that was you."

"Was it? Or was I just trying to grow up too fast?"

Mr Davenport opened, then closed, his mouth.

"I mean, I've always known about the terrible stuff that goes on around the world, I wasn't ignorant, I never thought the universe was some magical place that made everyone's dreams come true. So, did I read because I wanted more knowledge to help me in the future, or because I enjoyed it?"

There was a moment of silence.

"That was an actual question," Chase added.

"Oh," came the unanimous exclamation from everyone.

"Chase, you always loved reading, learning, your brain just loved retaining knowledge –so you collected as much as you could. I think you're just overanalysing things," Mr Davenport was probably the only one who could answer that question, Bree being a child at the time too, and Tasha not being around.

"So….I wasted my childhood."

"No," It was Bree who answered, "if that's what you like doing, there's no way it could be a waste. Quit listening to Leo and his weird childhood, we had a different one, you can't compare things like that."

The middle bionic came and perched herself on the other side of her little brother.

"I'm not worried that you're worried about your future," she continued, "I couldn't care less about that. What I care about is the fact that you're changing because of it."

"Changing?" Both adults questioned at the same time, only to be ignored.

"I want you to _always_ be you. Don't act smart because you think you need to, don't act like you need to grow older too…..we all know you don't need to do that, look at Adam….But also, don't think like you've got to do these things to reclaim something you think you don't have. You just need to do things because you want to, not because you think you have to or someone tells you to. I think you just need to take a step back, breathe, collect your thoughts and then come back forward again.

"The past is gone, _get over it_, the future is a long way away, _forget about that, _live in the now. You can't change anything but that," Bree finally concluded, taking a deep breath and a long sip of her drink.

"Wow Bree," Mr Davenport muttered in awe, never knowing his daughter had that in her, even though he felt like he'd missed some important piece of information and had no clue what she was saying.

"Thanks," Chase finally replied, looking at the coffee table, in deep thought.

"Are we good here?" Bree questioned, looking at the three people in the room, "Because if we are…." She trailed off.

"Yeah," the youngest Davenport stood, pulling his sister into a quick hug, "You've given me a lot to think about," before he turned and left.

Bree was quick to follow, already pulling her phone out and texting her friends.

"What just happened?" Tasha finally asked.

"….I think everything's sorted now," Donald replied in an equally unsure and apprehensive tone.

"Well," Tasha turned to her husband, "Good job."

"Not that I don't love taking credit when it's not due…But what did we actually do?"

"You know, I'm not that sure."

* * *

Chase did end up helping Adam build a fort, not because he felt like he needed to, but because he wanted to as well. They had fun, and with Chase's eye for structurally sound designs, and Adam's ability to locate multiple pillows and blankets, the two were able to pull together a near impenetrable fortress.

"We should add a moat," Adam proclaimed, as they surveyed their creation.

"…..We're inside."

"So?"

"Adam, you can't put a moat inside -It's just not possible," Chase let out in an almost exasperated sigh.

"I smell a challenge," Adam shot back in a sing-song voice, spinning on his heels and disappearing to presumably find a means of putting a moat in their living room floor.

Chase paused, wondering whether he should stop his brother, before deciding that it would be far more entertaining to see what Adam came up with to get a moat. He quickly darted off after his brother, pausing to chuckle when he heard Leo noticing their creation and letting out a noise mixed between surprised and excited yelp.

Bree was right, in her burst of infinite wisdom. Chase did only need to take a step back, and once he did, did he realise that his childhood was pretty darn awesome. His brother and sister were his best friends, they had their own personal playground underground, rock climbing walls, library and a toy room, just to name a few. It was incredible. They had super-powers, well as close as you could get to them.

Who else could say they had a billionaire father who always took time out of his busy day just to see them? Not many, if not _any_. Who else could say they went on missions to go out and save the world? Who else could say they had a bionic chip in the back of their neck that gave them incredible abilities?

So yes, he did not need to worry about his past any more, or who had been -because he was a smart, space loving, knowledge seeking, independent, mature bookworm, that was him. He couldn't worry about the future...that hadn't come yet, and statistically speaking, millions of events were always constantly working to alter it. So that couldn't be touched. All he really needed to care about was making sure he didn't get lost, that he stayed true to himself, no matter what anyone said. He needed to care about the now, if it was the only thing he could control, he made it his own personal mission to make it spectacular.

* * *

**So, what did you think? So basically I was reading a review and it was very thought provoking (By Guest, who reviewed chapter 2) and I though '...you know what...why?' And then I wrote why :)**

* * *

**So Chase is obviously conflicted in this chapter, and I have this feeling that he's one of those people that once he's thinking about something, he get's worked up about it, and having logic on your side would only add to the worry...because he could get statistics and things to back his own fears up. **

**I had him be interested in growing up, because I watched the show and he does act very mature sometimes (while other times he's not, and acts really young and teenager like), the voice of reason when nobody else is, then my mind jumped around for a bit, hit a mailbox and came back around to think 'what if he acted like an adult when he was a kid...like old enough to process his mental database (which wasn't a new skill, because it was introduced so casually on the show) and piece together that the world isn't all sunshine and daisies.' Then how that would effect him.**

**Bree also had a moment away from her phone, just highlighting how she actually does care about her brothers and when away from her phone and other worries, e.g. boys, she can be rather smart too...she did grow up with Chase and a genius inventor, after all.**

* * *

**Thank you, once again, for reading this far, being SPECTACULAR people, reviewing with such kind encouraging words, and just being AWESOME in general ;) I love you all (in the platonic internet way)**

**OH NEXT CHAPTER I WAS THINKING ABOUT BRINGING BACK 'MOTHER', what do you guys think? Yay or Nay?**

**Catch you (hopefully) tomorrow, right? Bye!**

***Yeah, I probably need to change my end thing, recently I've been missing a day between chapters (sometimes) so it's not exactly correct...hmmm...**


	31. Mother's Baby Boy

**Hi everyone!**

**Aww, thank you so much for your incredible reviews! Seriously, they were all so EPICALLY INCREDIBLE! -Just like the people who wrote them ;)**

**Oh and Unknown, you should most definitely create an account -it's really great! Everyone is seriously friendly and amazing :D**

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**I don't own Lab Rats**

**WARNING: Mother's in it, so there's going to be darker themes and more violence.  
**

**Thanks for everyone who said whether they wanted Mother or not this chapter! (I would have probably done this chapter anyway...I'd just have posted it later.)**

**Oh, the first two mentions of Mother are dreams, just in case you got confused...but the other ones are really her.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Chase opened his eyes to find himself on a wooden stool, disorientated and feeling so very, very weak. The room was bare, besides from the stool and a dresser, a mirror and a flower pot with dead roses. Besides that everything was grey, grey concrete walls and floors- even the two doors painted the dull colour. There was only a single window high up against the far right wall, barely bigger than a sheet of A3 paper.

He could barely lift his arms, he could barely do anything but stare at his own reflection in the dusty, cracked mirror. But Chase knew someone was coming, could hear their clipped footsteps coming down the hallway outside one of the two doors.

"Your hair, Conner, your beautiful hair," Mother came up behind him and wrapped her now ruby nails around his skull, squeezing as she took in the state of her beloved baby's hair.

"Mother, ow, Mother, you're hurting me –you're hurting Conner," Chase gasped, trying to shake her hands off. But he could barely move his head in his weakened state.

"Mother needs to cut it all off, so it can grow back nice and curly again," the woman decided in a distant tone, "Straight hair is for the wicked."

"Are you crazy?" Chase shrieked, finally managing to get the claws clutching his head uprooted from between his hair, "No!"

"-Then you'll be Mother's sweet little angel again."

"No, you can't!" Why was he here, how did she find him again?

Finally the blond seemed to register the fact that the innocent boy in her grasp was telling her 'no'. Filled with a sudden surge of unstoppable rage, she grabbed back onto her child's hair and dragged him over to the second door, the empty wardrobe, throwing him in and locking the door.

Chase couldn't help but be filled with a sudden, almost pitifully horrid, dread, "Mother, no please, Mother –you can't leave me in here!"

"You're going to stay locked in there until you learn not to say 'No' to your mother when she tells you to shave your hair off," under the door, Mother slid a blunt razor and pocket mirror, "Now you can come out after you shave off that wickedness, are you clear on that? Answer me, are you clear on that!"

"No," Chase started sobbing, banging on the door filled with overwhelming terror, "Please Mother, don't leave me alone in here! Dear God, please don't let her…..Mother, you can't!"

But he could already hear her footsteps walk away, leaving her 'Conner' locked away in a dank, meter squared room with no source of light besides the faint glow that came out from underneath the door. He knew she wouldn't be back. She never came back.

* * *

The one night she would have at least appreciated a little sleep, ultimately had to be the one she was woken up on. Thanks Universe.

"Bree?"

What on Earth could Chase possibly want in the middle of the night? If it was because of another 'once in a lifetime' star gazing thing again, because something is exploding somewhere and another this is being blocked out by something else -she won't be responsible for his death.

She let out a gruff, almost primal moan when she figured he would keep shaking until he got a response.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now. I dare you."

"…..I had a bad dream."

She moaned into her hands as she rubbed her eyes, "Go to Adam."

"But he told me to go to you."

Why couldn't Chase be normal? The last time Bree had a bad dream she was ten -and she handled it by herself- but no, Chase just had to go and get others involved.

"Go back to sleep then," she murmured as she turned on her side and tried to get more comfortable in her capsule.

"I can't."

"You're what, fifteen? Grow up."

There was nothing but the silent shuffling of someone walking away, then the creak of a capsule door as Chase decided to wordlessly go back to his 'bed'. Good. It was weird, during the day Chase was the responsible one, but as soon as the sun went down he seemed to morph into a little kid who had the inability of handling a little bad dream.

But in the end she felt an annoying niggling in the back of her head, which caused Bree to let out another moan as she shoved her capsule door over and stomped over to Chase's. She then wrenched his door open and blindly dragged her brother out by the collar of his pyjama top.

The middle bionic then took her little brother upstairs where she wordlessly turned the TV on to some random Chinese game show and left to go back to sleep, now he had a distraction and she could get back to sleep for that very import French test she had in the morning.

* * *

Mother bent down and gently caressed her baby's face, smiling lovingly down at her little being of perfection.

"They're gone," she cooed down into his ear, "When someone leaves, they don't come back. They never do. There's no point in waiting for your fake family anymore - _the dirty little pretenders- _they're gone."

Suddenly the boy who she thought had been so blissfully asleep started upright and made eye contact with her, as he back away, "No. You can't be the only one who's left. They'll save me."

"No, gone people never come back," Silly Conner, so harmlessly obtuse.

"But…Y-y-you came back."

"I never went away, don't you get that? I'm never going to leave you ever, you're my darling little Conner. Never ever." Mother clutched onto his face, dug her nails into his flawless flesh and watched his eyes well up with tears. She wanted to prove her love for him, but whenever she tried, she always made him bleed.

"Now wipe your snotty little nose, clean up your face- the nerve of you to not look presentable in front of your own Mother!" she ended hissing, flinging a cloth in his face before storming out of the room.

* * *

The next night it wasn't even a surprise when she was shaken awake again, without even opening her eyes again she sighed, "Bad dream?"

"Uh huh."

"Adam?"

"I stayed with him for a while, then he wanted to go back to sleep so he told me to go to you," Chase supplied.

Bree nodded into the darkness, "go back upstairs and watch some TV then."

"…..Okay."

Once Chase left the room Bree clambered out of her capsule and went to angrily bang on her older brother's. Finally Adam stuck his head out.

"Why do you keep sending him to me?"

"I don't know what to do. You're lucky -he comes to you second- I get him straight after he wakes up."

"What do you mean?"

"I get him all wide-eyed and crazy, you get him after he's calmed down. Besides, half the time he ends up back in his capsule by the time I'm done with him."

"What is even up with him?" Bree complained, now that her brother was 'out of earshot' –not really, he could hear everything in the house, but that's beside the point.

"I dunno, he keeps bugging out that Tasha's going to get him."

"_Tasha?" _Bree couldn't believe it.

"I think so," Adam yawned, "he's all like 'Mother's locked me in a wardrobe to die, Mother's going to get me!' It's weird."

"Wait, _'Mother_'? Are you sure he said 'Mother'?"

"Yeah," Adam sent her a weird look.

"Adam, he's not talking about Tasha, he's talking about that crazy psycho lady who drowned her kid in the family swimming pool!" Now Bree was more concerned, she thought her little brother had moved right on from that whole thing.

"…Oh…" Was all Adam managed to mumbled, "Well, why don't you go back to bed, I'll go up," he offered.

"No, not now I know what it's about!" Bree argued in her version of a 'hushed whisper', which still came out about as loud as when she talked normally.

"Okay, we'll both go up then," Adam shrugged, "You just look like you could use a little sleep." He had a point.

When her older brother strode passed her, she didn't follow, instead she bit her lip and slowly crawled back over to her capsule. So maybe this might make her a terrible big sister, but logically, she could probably do a lot more for Chase if she were well rested. At least that's the excuse she's sticking to.

* * *

Adam awkwardly sat down next to Chase probably closer than strictly necessary, but then again, this was his way of comforting his brother since now- for whatever reason- he flipped out whenever somebody started stroking or petting his hair…..which used to be Adam's comforting method.

"So…" Adam started, pausing to think about what to say next, "Anything good on TV?"

"Not really," Chase mumbled as he slouched forward and flipped through the channels faster than Adam could keep up with.

It was hard to talk to Chase sometimes, he was either forward and -quite frankly- blunt with his comments, sarcastic or completely closed off. Like right now, where all he did was stare emotionlessly up at the screen.

"Wait!" The eldest bionic suddenly shouted, raising his arm in the air, "Go back."

Chase obliged, and ended up flicking back thirteen stations until they got back to the one that initially caught Adam's eye.

"…It's an ad for vacuum cleaners," was all the younger male said.

"No –well, yeah- but just hang on and…." Adam held his breath until the programme came back on.

"Hey, I didn't know you two liked 'Robot Death Smasher' too!" Leo suddenly gushed out from behind them, practically materialising out of the woodwork with a gleam in his eyes.

"Uhh…" Both Davenports replied, looking at each other, well, before Leo jumped down in between them, causing the two males to make a gap for the newest early morning TV watcher.

"I set my alarm every Thursday so I don't miss it," Leo gushed obliviously, happily watching a spiky red box on wheels getting annihilated by a metal machine with 'Jaws of Death'.

"Really?" Chase questioned.

"Yeah, me and my dad used to always wake up just to watch this. It used to be on every day, now it's just Thursdays," there was a note of nostalgia in his voice as the only Dooley reminisced back to a time neither of the boys beside him we familiar with.

"Cool." Was all Adam said, as the three males settled into silence.

"Hey Adam?" The youngest Davenport finally spoke up, glancing past his step brother to the boy in question.

"Yeah, Chasey?"

The brunette let out a shaky sigh and gave his older brother a half smile and a nod.

"I'm glad," Adam replied to his brother's silent 'I think I'm okay now, thanks'.

Leo looked between the two bionics half confused, half suspicious before he shook off their 'moment' and went back to the violent destruction of hunks of moving metal. It vaguely reminded Leo of what he and Chase had done that time, but these guys were the professionals playing for big money.

* * *

Mother sat in the backseat of a taxi heading to Mission Creek, beside her sat her darling daughter asleep against the window….or at least that's what she told the driver.

"Mother's coming, Conner, Mother's going to keep you safe."

* * *

Chase was feeling a lot better by the time breakfast came around, he was happily joking with his younger brother whilst sharing his disapproval of his older brother flicking pieces of pancake into Mr Davenport's coffee.

There was a knock at the door, which Donald went to go answer, after throwing his coffee away –he may not have been looking, but he wasn't an idiot.

Chase continued on happily chattering to Leo about funny encounters with Principle Perry, with added commentary by Bree. Well, until Mr Davenport drew his attention to the door.

"Uh, Chase?" The boy looked over immediately after hearing the unsureness in his father's voice, "There's someone at the door for you."

All chattering ceased in a second, Tasha stopped flipping new pancakes and everyone turned to the door, but only two people recognised the familiar figure standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Chase," Violetta greeted formally, "I need to speak with you," she then ignored the dumbfounded Mr Davenport and slid past him and into the house.

She looked almost just the same she had the night he met her, wearing the same pink dress and expression of disinterest across her little heart shaped face. But her hair was tied up with pink ribbons and she had a sequined backpack slung over her shoulders. Her face was clean and her clothes look neatly pressed -obviously the past few months had been very kind to Violetta.

"Violetta, How-"

"Did I know where you live?" She cut him off, pre-empting his question, "The police told me your last name was Davenport and mentioned that your father's a billionaire, so it wasn't _that_ hard to track you down after that."

"Oh," was all Chase had time to say before the child sat down on the couch and beckoned for him to sit beside her.

"I need to speak with you," Violetta then turned to Mr Davenport as an afterthought, shot him a dirty look, "Go away," she shooed him with her hand, "all of you," she turned to stare down the others. Pausing only slightly to send an acknowledging nod to Bree.

Mr Davenport looked like he was about to object, but ended up just running a hand through his hair and saying, "It's too early for this," before stumbling out of the room after his wife and children. He will later deny saying that, because 'fabulous people can function at any time of the day'.

"….What are you doing here," Chase finally murmured in a quiet voice, not really sure how he should take having 'Daughter-of-Mine' perched on the end of his couch.

Part of him was glad to see her, she had been his biggest ally in such a dark time. But there was a very big piece of him that could only look at her and remember the twelve hours he had been doing a rather affective job of blocking out.

He saw Daughter-of-Mine and her similarities to Mother, her nose, her eyes, her heart shaped face. Her stare was just as chilling. Why was she here? She was a direct link to such a terrible time that he couldn't shake out of his head.

Now all he could do was think of Mother in the car petting his head and….and before Chase knew it, he had Violetta telling him very pointedly that his loud breathing was annoying her.

"Sorry," Chase gasped, after he became aware of his hyperventilation and managed to calm himself.

'_Think of the now, stay out of the past –focus on her, on the girl sitting on your couch.' _

"Well, I'll make this quick. Mother is coming," was all she replied, like one would conversationally mention the weather.

"What?"

"She told me to warn you. Hide."

Then Violetta stood and backed up to the front door, not breaking eye contact until she finally spun on her heels and left, "I tried, but I couldn't escape her. Now it's your turn. My advice? Run."

Her parting words set off every alarm bell in Chase's suddenly stiff, cold and clammy body. When his family came back in, Leo joked about his suddenly red nose while Bree immediately dashed to his side and made him lock eyes with her. He nodded. She swore.

* * *

After filling in the family on who Violetta was, explaining that if anything she was a mere pawn but seemed to work more for herself than anyone else. Then about Mother's apparent return, the family immediately put in some precautionary measures.

"No school until we're sure she's not around," Mr Davenport started.

Chase wanted to argue, '_school's the only thing that could possibly calm me down when I know there's a psychotic mad woman out there trying to kill me.' _But he knew the safest course of action.

"I'll run a perimeter search," Bree suddenly stood.

"Why?" Leo questioned.

"Because if Violetta was sent by Mother, then obviously she's got to be close, right?"

"That's a very good point," Donald nodded to Bree, who immediately ran out of the room, "I'm going to see what information I can bring up about this girl –Violetta- and see if she's been reported missing. Stay inside, Chase."

"I'll…." Tasha trailed off.

"Continue making pancakes, I'm sort of hungry," Chase deadpanned.

"Yes! I'm on it," the woman spun on her heels and ran back into the kitchen, feeling a whole lot more important and calm now that she had a specific job to do.

"Are you scared?" Leo asked, nervously bringing his fingers up to his mouth to gnaw on his nails.

"I'm not sure….I guess I've been expecting something for a while now."

"Leo!" Donald's voice could be heard calling his step-son in the distance.

"I'm gonna go see what he wants," Leo unnecessarily supplied as he stood to leave.

"Well I'm going to stay right here," Adam pointedly sat down beside his brother.

"Okay," Chase nodded, settling further down into the couch as he tried to reorganise his suddenly frazzled thoughts.

Silently he was happy that he had Adam beside him, it was comforting in a strange sort of way. Even though he knew Mother seemed to work more by having people do jobs for her, and would in no ways just walk up and attack the house, it was nice to know if she did –his brother would protect him.

"**Oh I see, you're happy you've got Mr. Dumb 'N Strong, but not me? Beef Bag, I'm disappointed."**

"_Spike!"_

"**Duh." **Then he added an almost cautionary, **"You're not going to pass out like a weak kneed little girl, are you?"**

Translation: You're okay, right?

"_Nah, I think I'm okay. At least now I know what she wants."_

"**Yeah, your dead body. But don't worry Scuttermuffin, I'm up for a fight….And I have no qualms with beating the puss out of a lady."**

"…_Thank you," _and he really meant it.

* * *

Mother raised the phone to her lips, having already punched in the number sweet little Daughter-of-Mine passed on to her. She was such a good little researcher.

"Hello, Davenport residence, Cha-" But she cut the boy off, she knew her son's voice, he didn't need to give her a fake name.

She licked her lips, before whispering down the line, _"_Remember Conner, Son-of-Mine: only your Mother truly loves you."

There was silence from Conner, but her baby was probably just processing her words of love, too choked up to respond.

"Mother is going to come rescue you, Son-of-Mine, Mother is going to _save_ you."

The phone clicked off, it must have been a faulty connection, because she knew her spectacular baby boy would never even _think _of hanging up on her. But no matter, she had told him what he needed to know. He could sleep easy knowing Mother was on her way.

* * *

Donald and Leo both kept their gaze locked on the computer screen they shared in front of them.

"Whoa," the only Dooley finally breathed, re reading the information on the computer –hoping it would make more sense the fifth time through….but his mind just couldn't comprehend it.

"She killed her entire Foster family," Donald nodded.

"Wait, they don't say if it was Violetta or Mother."

"That's because they don't know, there isn't any conclusive evidence for either party. The only thing that is clear is the outcome, four dead people and a missing girl."

"I've got to go tell Chase," Leo turned to dash for the lift.

"Would that really help?" Donald questioned, causing his step-son to pause, shake his head and turn back to the computer.

"Now what?"

"Violetta had a chip installed, a tracker, it was done on the down low though. See?" Donald pointed at a garble of tech language on the girl's medical certificate, beside the picture of an x-ray that clearly highlighted an unidentified shape in the girl's shoulder.

"Do you think she got it after the abduction, or before?"

"I'm not sure…..," Mr Davenport sighed, before clapping Leo on the back, "But either way, if I can hack into the signal then we can locate her."

"And if she's with mother-"

"-We can find her," Donald finished the sentence, suddenly giddy and grinning from ear-to-ear.

* * *

Adam remained unwavering beside his brother, who had started reading some text book. The eldest Davenport was serious about staying by Chase's side. It seemed like every time he wasn't by his brother's side something bad happened to him, Adam had failed last time and his baby sibling was kidnapped, but he was going to protect Chase this time –no matter what- for however long it took.

"Chasey?"

"Yeah?"

"After this we should totally go buy Leo a unicorn."

"…Why?"

"Because he looks like a nice enough kid, I'm sure he'd like one."

"Unicorns are majestic beasts," Chase jokingly agreed.

Obviously Adam wasn't going to take Chase unicorn shopping, you can't buy a unicorn, they're free range –you have to catch one- but he just wanted to make sure Chase was okay. He wanted to hear his brother's voice, he'd been silent for too long….especially after that phone call.

* * *

Half of Chase could understand it, the other half…not so much. Yeah, he could comprehend why everyone was panicking, there was a delusional murderer after him. But, on saying that, she was just a woman, just like Father was just a man and Nolan was just a bitterly twisted male as well. Violetta was a mere little girl.

Chase could understand that they were a very dangerous family, but _his_ family were giving them power. Why were they playing the defence? The youngest Davenport couldn't help dealing with his repressed emotions through his dreams, but everyone else was just blindly following along and treating it like this was some massive problem.

It wasn't.

Mother was an aging human. He was a bionic crime-fighting leader. Before he had been scared and unsure, but he had learnt all about his enemy's now. Two of them were locked up, one was never really that evil to begin with and the final could easily be taken down.

The phone rang. It was Mother.

That helped solidify the thought Chase had swimming around in his head, it helped him make his decision, "This is stupid. I don't want to be scared anymore."

"Hmm?" Adam looked over with a curious glance, "What?"

"I've got to pee, be right back," Chase stood.

Adam looked unsure, fidgeting on the couch, the brunette rolled his eyes to highlight how ridiculous his brother was being, "Jeez, I'm going to the bathroom, do you want to come or something?"

The eldest Davenport sheepishly shook his head, Chase sighed and dashed upstairs. But instead of going to the bathroom, he opened a window and prepared himself for the two storey jump. Mother may think she's saving him, but the truth was now…he's hunting her.

"This ends today," and he jumped.

* * *

**So what did you think? I know, I know, I tried to put it all in one chapter...but I decided that I could do so much more with two! I'm not sure whether I should post part two next, or have another chapter and then this?  
**

**Next chapter I'll have more Tasha, Leo, Adam, Donald etc. Involvement (possibly Nolan and Father) and yeah :)**

**Anyways, I hope you liked it!**

**(WHO do you think killed the Foster family? WHEN do you think Violetta's tracker chip was installed -before by Mother and Father, or, after so she always be located as a precaution by the police etc.? DO you think Chase can take Mother or will he crumble when he's faced by her?)**

* * *

_CHARACTER EXPLANATION TIME (Insert Catchy Jingle Here):_

Chase****** starts off being plagued by nightmares, considering he never really addresses his fear of Mother and the experience. So then his subconscious takes over and he goes to seek comfort in his siblings. He's been expecting a reappearance of Mother for a while.  
But when he first see's Violetta he's immediately reminded of his fear, but as time goes on he has more time to think about it and realises 'hey, I'm _Bionic, _I can totally take Mother' he's sick of being afraid. So like Chase usually does, he attacks a problem head on and ends up going after her.**

**Okay, so **Bree **knew exactly who Violetta was because of the end of the final abducted chapter where she tells Violetta to flag down the cops. She knew something was wrong with Chase because it was also mentioned (I think in the first chapter) that she jokes about Chase turning into Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer when he gets anxious or worried.  
**

Adam** plays the stubborn protector when he realises that he has a second chance at protecting his brother, not wanting anything to happen to him -so he's not leaving his side. **Leo**'s helping **Donald** on tracking down Mother and seeing how Violetta fits into it. **Tasha** is way over her head, she still not used to the danger that follows the Davenport family.**

Violetta **is working as Mother's messenger and information collector, with hinting of why/how throughout the chapter. **Mother **herself still thinking that 'Conner' was stolen and is going after him to finish the task she never got to the first time. She's still creepy.  
**

* * *

**Thank you once again everyone who has reviewed ever -be it for a chapter or two or every chapter- faved and/or followed. It really means so much and the motivation is just INCREDIBLE!**

**Catch you...When I catch you... **

**Because **I'm going to stay at my dad's house for a bit so the updates may be shorter and a **BIT** infrequent for a little bit until I get back on track (not every night...let's say every **TWO** or **THREE**nights :)

**Okay...Catch you later, yeah? Bye!**


	32. I'm Not Afraid (Mother's End)

**Hi everyone!**

**So up here I've had very scarce internet, but I managed to scrape together enough to post this! (One of the down sides about visiting my dad, which _is _fun, thanks** Guest**!)  
Oh and other** Guest, **I am at that lovely age where teachers expect me to suddenly know what I want to do with the entirety of the rest of my life (not fun) and thank you!**

**When I checked my reviews I swear I almost DIED! WOW. You guys are seriously amazing, 342 reviews? THREE-FOUR-TWO? I just can't believe it :D Thank you so much, you SENSATIONAL BEINGS!**

* * *

**I don't own Lab Rats.**

**So this is probably the last part to the whole Mother arc. Sure, they may appear in other chapters, but probably not as the main focus :)  
HOPEFULLY it answers ALL your questions (feel free to leave a review or PM me if you still want to know something that I didn't cover)**

**WARNING: Darker themes, because of Mother. Violence, abuse, mentions of murder etc.**

**ENJOY :)**

* * *

The funny thing about right and wrong, Chase was beginning to realise, was that it doesn't really exist. It's all just a form of perception, a mere matter of perspective. One person might think they are doing the right thing, whilst the other may believe that they are the ones in the clear.

Mother must think she's right, must believe somewhere in her distorted and sick mind that she is the one acting on behalf of the greater good. And she was, in her mind, but from Chase's point of view, she was an irrational mad-woman with homicidal tendencies.

Either way, whether he was playing the hero or the villain, Chase was stopping her. Once and for all.

* * *

Tasha was the one to send the family into a panic. She had been cleaning upstairs when she realised she needed a replacement sponge, and, ended up scurrying back downstairs to look under the kitchen sink for a new one.

"Hey bo –where's Chase?" The woman had immediately questioned when she was presented with the sight of only Adam fidgeting on the couch.

"Bathroom," the teen supplied, stopping his impatient foot tapping to face his step-mother.

"Oh, down in the lab," Tasha had nodded.

"No," the eldest bionic furrowed his brows, "_Upstairs_."

Tasha laughed, "That's impossible."

"Well he just went up there," Adam retorted almost defensively.

"Adam," suddenly the woman had a look of utter dread slowly crawling across her face, "I was just cleaning up there, and trust me when I say I didn't see Chase at all."

The two wordlessly sprinted up the stairs, starting a frantic search on the second floor of the house….that was abruptly ended when Adam stumbled across the opened window.

"Mr Davenport!" The eldest bionic called over his shoulder, sticking his head out of the window as he scowered the area for any traces of his brother.

"Donald!" Tasha bellowed at the same time as her step-son, taking a step back and turning to shriek out her husband's name again at the top of the stairs.

* * *

The pain of the fall was inevitable, Chase had been expecting it, so after impact he allowed his mind to register the discomfort and push it away. He didn't have the time for such trivial things as hurt and injury. The shock that ran up his legs was a hot shot of excruciating pain, but it only took a short walk to brush it off and continue on. Chase was a man on a mission, nothing could stop him.

He knew exactly where he was going, he was following a certain little girl.

As much as Chase wanted to believe that Violetta was good, he knew that she was far from a saint. As much as he wanted to believe Daughter-of-Mine was on his side, he knew he was kidding himself if he took that as the whole truth -for the girl who seemed to be only out for her best interests.

Tasha had conversationally asked him, whilst wiping down the kitchen bench, whether or not he trusted her. His reply?

"Of course not, she turned her back on her own family."

"Some people have reasons, Honey," Tasha had tried slowly, obviously confused.

"Yeah, I'm not saying she didn't make the right decision, but she lied right to their faces and tried to get me out of there alive because she knew I could get her out too," Chase rubbed his face, "She's cold and calculating. Brilliant. One of the smartest people I've met –so smart that she knows the perfect time to jump ship is when it's still in a calm sea."

"So we shouldn't listen to what she says?"

"No, we should. She was being honest."

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't necessary to lie," Chase scoffed, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. And it was. To him at least, considering he could understand her thought patterns. She liked him enough to warn him, but if Mother caught him again, she wouldn't be there to help.

That was how Chase knew to listen to her leave, hear the car she got into and the individual engine noise it made. He could identify the car, make and model within a minute. Then again he didn't even need that to follow her once he heard Leo and Mr Davenport down in the lab, all he needed to do was look for signals. Not big radio signals, but like his own chip, small waves that lie below the median frequency. When he locked on he knew exactly where to find Daughter-of-Mine, in the safest position, by her mother's side.

* * *

Chase slowly approached the front gate of the innocuous little house in the unassuming suburban street. It was a nice looking place, trimmed front lawn, double storey weatherboard house with little trinkets visible up on the window. It was the type of home that you'd never guess there was a homicidal maniac inside.

The outside light was on, flooding the garden bed and bathing the front with near blinding light. It was like the household was waiting for someone to come home –Chase supposed- for Conner to come home.

"**I wonder who they killed to score this place. Not too shabby, 'ey?" **Spike whistled in the back of his mind.

"_Shhh."_

"**Oh yeah, like they're going to hear me? I could say whatever the-"**

"_Would you just shut up!?"_

The youngest bionic paused, sighed, then slunk over to the wooden front door, listening in to see what he could hear on the inside of the house. It took him mere seconds to pinpointing the two individuals who sounded like they were on the other side of the house.

There was a thwacking noise, harsh and crisp against the stagnant silence of outside.

"Ow –Mother," he could hear Violetta cry out, "What's wrong? What did I do?"

"Nothing, Daughter-of-Mine. Nothing, nothing, _nothing,"_ Chase could hear Mother cackle from inside the house.

"Then -ah- why are y-you hitting me?"

"Why not? Who else do you expect me to hit?" Came the almost gleeful reply, before the tone darkened, "How_ dare_ you question your mother!"

"I'm sorry, Mummy," Came the subordinate sigh from the young girl inside the house.

"Like you mean it," Scoffed Mother, "You're good for nothing."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that, go. Leave Mother."

Chase could hear a set of footsteps scurry out of what seemed to be the kitchen and grow closer to the front door.

"I don't want to see you!" Mother continued shrieking.

The youngest Davenport could tell where the girl was making a bee-line to, but he didn't see the point in moving. In the matter of seconds the front door was pulled open by small hands.

Violetta took a deep breath, rubbing her cheek, until she suddenly became aware of the boy standing before her on the doorstep and allowed her eyes to brighten, "I knew you'd come."

Chase swallowed, he had marched all the way over here without that much of a clear plan in his mind, something he always reprimanded his siblings for- entering enemy territory without a plan. Oh well, he was a hypocrite, but he had determination. And it's a wonder how far determination can carry a person.

"This ends today," was all the bionic spared the relieved looking girl as he stalked into the house. "Mother."

* * *

Big D had gone to see what Adam and his mum were screeching about, leaving Leo alone in the lab. Without Mr Davenport, Leo had a chance to look more in depth into who this family was, considering Donald already said he knew enough about them and only wanted to focus on the little girl.

Leo ended up with the newspaper article his mum must have originally found all that time ago.

"Woah," was all the only Dooley could make out as he stared down at the stock photo of this mysterious 'Conner'.

He and Chase could have been brothers, they were so similar. The two boys held the same vague characteristics that varied enough to pull them away from an exact copy of one another, but it was obvious why Nolan would have picked Chase up.

Dark hair, tanned skin and the same self-assured smirk, but drawn apart by the obvious lanky height that Conner possessed and those startling blue eyes.

"So you're Conner, hey?" Leo whistled, before abruptly turning his attention to the sudden beeping coming from one of the many monitors surrounding him.

Finally Leo stumbled across a screen that had the bionics' location, Bree could be seen pulling back up at the house, Adam upstairs and Chase leaving the designated safety zone Mr D had set up around the area. If any of the bionics left the range, an alarm would sound.

"Wait a minute," Leo murmured, turning back to the screen that was tracing Violetta, "Oh, I see what you're doing."

The only Dooley sat back and watched the screens, waiting for the moment when the two dots met. After that he remained for the moment that would show that his brother was coming home. But there was no moment, no matter how long Leo waited.

Something must be wrong, Chase wouldn't be there for so long. So Leo did what he always did in situations like these, he grabbed one of his step-father's inventions and ran out of the lab to track down and rescue a bionic.

* * *

Mother was clutching him as soon as he entered the kitchen, "Oh Son-of-Mine, Conner, Son-of-Mine."

Chase had entered the house ready to confront Mother, but as soon as he saw her face, he couldn't, he froze. All the while she clung to him, whispering sweet nothings into his ear, he was trying to convince his body to move. To do anything but numbly follow what Mother wanted.

"_Snap out of it. Move. Don't just stand there, do something!" _He tried telling himself, willing his brain to give the rest of his being a swift kick out of neutral.

"**Step aside." **Gruff and in control. Why couldn't Chase be that calm in such situations?

"_What?"_

"**This is my job."**

No, sometimes Spike just simply _couldn't _cut in. _"No. I have to do this. It's got to be me."_

"**I'm not going to stand here and do nothing while you clearly freeze."**

"_Just give me a second. Just a second. This has to be me. I need to think, give me a se-"_

"**-Second. Yeah, I got it," **Spike seemed to let out a long, primal growl, but deep down he liked making Chase happy and respected when a fight wasn't his own,** "Fine. But I'm warning you, if you take any longer I'm cutting in."**

"_Thank you."_

"**Just...You've got this, okay? Remember that."**

Spike didn't leave, but he also didn't try to take over. He'd just patiently keep watch by the ropes, waiting in case he needed to tag in. Chase was glad that he didn't go, it offered him a small comfort.

_What do you need? Think Chase. You need to capture her, but you also need proof, so she can be locked up for good. _

There was the logic he needed, the information and planning that could instantly calm him and help him take out the woman before him. She was nothing but a weak aging female, a demented one at that, but still -what was the worst she could do? He had this.

"Maybe, now that I'm all safe and well, you can tell me all about all these _pretenders," _Chase bit his lip and sent what he hope came across as an innocent glance up at his still rambling 'Mother'.

"I can do more, my darling, perfect, boy," Mother smiled adoringly, "Son-of-Mine, I can show you."

Chase swallowed, so he was pretended to be Conner again to trick Mother. Just like in the car after being abducted where...where he took control of the situation and got out of it. He easily handled Mother, and could do it again. Yes, all the youngest bionic needed to remember was that he had defeated them all before, and could do so again. Simple.

* * *

Chase ended up following Mother up the stairs, making sure to record every word she said onto his recording app to bring to the police. It didn't take her long to begin rattling off scenarios about those _dirty, lying, monsters _who dared try to think that a mother couldn't recognise her own baby.

Nolan was generally always the collector, sometimes Violetta had helped. She was mainly used as bait. Conner was notoriously kind, so if there appeared to be a little girl in need of assistance –he would always stop to help. They used that logic to reel in potential son replacements.

Father was the surprising muscles -considering he was so overweight- as well as the orchestrator of all the operations. Mother was simply just the sick figure head they all worked to please.

It was funny, the more she talked about the previous boys and Nolan, Father and Violetta -who had taken to pacing in the kitchen- the easier it was to accept the situation he had once been in and recognise that he was, by far, not the worst case. It helped solidify a lot of things in his mind, and, remind the Davenport boy that these people weren't monsters to haunt his nightmares, just simply twisted individuals who didn't deserve such thought.

"Conner!" Mother brusquely barked down at her son, suddenly reaching across and slapping him across the face, "You naughty, naughty boy."

Chase reeled back, clutching his stinging cheek, "But I... I didn't do anything, Mother... I didn't do _anything_," please don't stop talking, keep going.

"You brought him," The youngest Davenport turned around to see who Mother was jabbing her finger at. At the end of her pristinely manicured fingernail was Leo, who began to awkwardly clamber up the stairs once he realised he'd been sprung.

"But that's just Leo, he's nobody," Chase tried to placate the practically frothing woman, placing his body in front of the top of the staircase, effectively creating a barrier between his brother and the blond psychopath.

"_Hey_, I take off-"

"Shut up, Leo. You're not helping!" The brunette turned his head to growl down at the offended Dooley.

"Look at you, protecting the scum," Mother sneered, beginning to pace forward like a wild animal preparing to strike.

Something seemed to flick on inside of him, "He's not scum."

"You're letting him come between us!" She all but shrieked.

Chase took a deep breath, but he knew that he'd rather die than let this woman think or do anything to his little brother, "No I'm not."

"Go to your room Conner." It was an order.

"…No."

"Let Mother deal with this vermin."

But there was no way Chase was leaving Leo with a woman who could contort her face to hold such a maniacal grin, "I'm not going to let you hurt him."

Mother didn't seem to know what to do with that sudden act of defiance, where was her sweet little drop of sunshine? Her light in such a dark and heinous world? This _child _had no clue of his place, she thought she taught him well.

Chase stood his ground, head raised defiantly.

Perhaps she would need to reteach him that lesson, "A boy should _always_ listen to his mother."

"Well you're not my mother, so that's okay then," the youngest Davenport spat in her face.

"Don't. You. Dare. Sa-"

"Oh I dare."

"_Conner."_

"I'm sick of you."

"Now you listen he-"

"No, you listen to me now," Chase growled, puffing out his chest and towering over the woman who suddenly shrunk down before him.

"C-c-con," she began sobbing, "Conner," violent, wretched sobs that made her entire frame shake, "CONNER!" She wailed to the heavens.

"Uh, Chase?" Leo whispered, eyes locked on the blond breaking down before his eyes.

"Back away, Leo," was all the bionic could breathe, not taking his eyes off of the blubbering woman before him.

"….Aren't you coming?"

"No. This isn't over," Chase never once dropped his steely tone.

Leo had opened his mouth several more times, but ended up simply bowing his head and scooting back down the stairs, "I'll be outside."

"You do that."

* * *

Violetta ended up coming upstairs to find her mother sobbing by the top of the staircase with Chase standing over her, as if considering what to do with the lady.

"Daughter-of-Mine," The blond woman suddenly spluttered when she saw her youngest child coming towards her.

"What's going on?"

"Mother is being locked up, I suggest that you come with me," the brunette who vaguely reminded her of her older brother replied without looking over.

"Very well," Violetta nodded.

"What? You can't just leave me! I am your family, your _mother," _the adult suddenly processed what was being said.

"No, you're not," was all Violetta simply said, "you may have given birth to me, but that only makes us blood, not family. You killed my brothers."

This made Chase look up, "Brothers?"

"You drowned Conner, he was sick and you drowned him!" Violetta spat down at her mother, "Then you turned Nolan into some emotionless beast. I watched you do it, the moment you killed one brother you started changing the other one into someone I can't even recognise now. Someone doesn't have to be dead to have died, there are more ways to be killed than just having your heart stop beating."

"Daug-"

"You made me kill people. I don't even _care_ about that. Do you know what it's like to have someone die in front of you and to not care? I'm a kid, I'm supposed to be bandaging scraped knees, not wiping down bloody knifes. You killed me too," Violetta scoffed and scowled.

"Please," Mother extended her hand to her child.

"No," the far too young girl took a far too big step back, "You taught me a very valuable lesson _Mother, _only look after yourself. That's exactly what I plan to do."

Chase shuffled on his feet, he wanted to confront Mother, but it seemed like Violetta was handling it all for him.

"You murdered my foster family-"

"-For you-"

"-I was moving on with my life. Then you just had to come back to try and get me to help you get Chase," this caused Mother to shoot the youngest Davenport a sideways glance.

"No, that's Conner," the blond calmly pointed to Chase.

"Conner's dead, Mother, don't you understand? He's gone! He was weak and always getting sick, so you decided it would be better to stop him breathing permanently."

"No. That's Conner."

"His name is Chase, the last boys name was Anthony, then it was Ron and James and Phillip and Edward and Sebastian and Ben," the dark haired girl continued her rather long list of names, "you killed each and every one of them, and now you want to kill him," Violetta -too- jabbed her finger at Chase.

"I don't want to kill him, I love him!"

"Yeah," Violetta's voice broke, "Mum, you love him so much that you don't want him to suffer so you kill him again. You just loved him so _much_ that you don't want to let him go. You need help."

For a moment it seemed as if it was all falling into place inside Mother's head, before her eyes dulled and she straightened her back, "Daughter-of-Mine, what wicked words you speak against your mother. Conner, my sweet angel, lock her to her room. I do not wish to speak with her for the rest of the night -or tomorrow night either- she can spend all week fixing her scathing tongue!"

Violetta almost looked heartbroken, "You can't even say my name," was all she whispered before she shook her head, "No more," and allowed her face to once more fall behind her emotionless mask.

* * *

The police arrived before they'd even been properly called. They had been following the chip that the child had specifically asked to be implanted into her arm.

"Will I ever see you again?" It was Chase, he had been standing with his step brother before shifting over to the police car.

"I'm not sure."

"If you're ever in the area..." He trailed off, offering her a small smile.

Violetta exhaled in what could be considered a laugh, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Violetta?" The girl tilted her head in acknowledgement, "I'm so...sorry about your family."

Mother was taken away in the back of a van, and would probably never be fit enough to be released back into mainstream society. Father was actually rather happy in prison, making friends and taking the time to get reacquainted with his old love for art. Nolan was a raging sociopath and Conner was murdered.

"Don't be. You can't choose your family."

"You know, for someone so young, you're really smart," it seemed to be sliding out of his lips like a foreign sentence he was yet to wrap his tongue around. That probably made it mean all the more, considering she always knew Chase was smart, he was the smartest person she had ever met.

She swallowed, "In a world like this, I've got to be."

He nodded and they shared a moment of silence.

"Thank you," without her, he'd still be standing over a sobbing woman trying to work out what to say, he'd have been murdered before he even got a chance to think of an escape plan.

"No, thank you," without him, she would never have thought she could be brave enough to stand up to her family, to say such things to her mother and be free for once in her life.

They shared a knowing smirk.

"Well, the police are taking me to a special home, where there are apparently more people 'like me' -whatever that means."

For Chase, it was amazing to think back and believe that this girl had gone from staring at him like he was an animal to be inspected, referring to him as a simple 'it', to now calling him by his name and acting far more grown up than most adults he knew.

"Goodbye, Violetta," and he lent forward and hugged her.

It seemed to be the final piece he needed to let it all go.

* * *

Tasha was frantically pacing the living room, Bree was preparing to run laps of the neighbourhood and Adam was cursing himself on the couch while Donald tried to triangulate Chase's signal.

"Can you find it?" Bree materialised beside him.

"No, it must be broken, it says that he's supposed to be in the house," Donald hit the computer screen.

"WE'RE HOME!" Leo's voice suddenly screeched from the lab's back entrance generally only used once returning from missions.

"Eugh, they're back!" Eddy's voice shuddered in faux disgust.

Tasha, having heard Eddy was already inside the lift with Adam, both hitting the lab button and mentally hurrying the lift along.

Chase and Leo walked in side by side, joking about something as they pulled up to Mr Davenport and Bree, "Hey guys," Leo waved.

"Where...Why...How...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Mr Davenport finally settled on shouting in the two boys' faces, "Do you know how worried we were? You two just disappeared, when there's a mad woman trying to kill you, Chase."

"Not anymore there isn't," Leo and Chase shared a high-five.

"What?" Donald questioned.

"You _killed _her?" Bree lowered her head.

"No!" Chase looked slightly taken aback, shaking his head furiously,"Of course not, the police took care of her." Even though he couldn't deny that the thought didn't briefly cross his mind...until he was sickened by having thought about taking another person's life, no matter how much of a monster they were.

"Leo, Chase, oh thank God you're alright," Tasha barreled into the two boys, alternating between them as she took turns in hugging them to her.

"You little-"

"Hey!" Mr Davenport cut a very annoyed Adam off.

The oldest bionic instead wrenched Chase away from Tasha and shook him very firmly, "Do. You. Have. Any. Idea. On. How. Much. I. Want. To. Punch. You. Right. Now?"

"A lot?" the brunette shrugged.

Adam pulled his brother into a fierce hug, "You stupid dork, you just disappeared. You said you were going to the bathroom and then you jumped out the window instead!"

"I know, I'm sorry," Chase hugged his brother back, until he was pushed away and Adam went to go check on Leo.

Mr Davenport took a deep breath and clapped Chase on the back a few times, letting the news sink in before turning to see how Tasha was taking everything, the woman being overly emotional as it was.

Bree stepped forward, swapping with Adam -as she had just finished grilling Leo on what happened- and ruffled her younger brother's hair.

"Don't touch my hair," Chase quickly fixed it up, but knew his words and actions had little-to-no effect on his sibling.

"Did you do everything you needed to do?" Bree understood, he went because he needed to move on, he was sick of being trapped in the past.

"No, there's one more thing..."

* * *

Chase picked up the file and began flicking through the pictures. Missing boys, compiled into a folder by the all too willing Nolan. He was by far the easiest to get in contact to, and he knew everything (Father having been in a pottery class at the time). He had been proud too, when he identified each and every child as someone he played a part in the murder of.

"Is that all of them?" the youngest Davenport tried to keep his cool.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Nolan had lent forward, a twisted smirk contorting his face into that of a monsters. He came right up to the glass, so close that it began to fog up under his heavy breaths, "Certain."

That was all the teenager needed before standing up.

"Oh, Chasey boy, leaving so soon I see?" Nolan stretched back, arms folded behind his head in the picture of comfort, "_Pity."_

Chase shook his head, swallowed the lump building in his throat and replying with, "I'm _so_ sorry."

That tore the grin right of the young man's face, "What?" He all but growled in a primal screech.

Chase bit his lip, truthfully, no matter how much his heart was telling him to mindlessly loathe Nolan, his brain was telling him to pity the pathetic boy.

"I hope you're proud of your accomplishments," was all the departing teen responded, turning and leaving the room to the other male's sudden shrieks of disagreement and desperation.

"Chasey, come on, come back. _What do you mean you're sorry? I'll make you sorry._ You're not really going to leave, are you? _If I ever get my hands on you, I'm going to break your fragile little neck in two. _Please don't go. Stay. Chase!"

Nolan was just as sick as his mother, it was a shame really, he used to be such a nice boy –he had such promise. Now look at him.

* * *

"Why'd you go visit him?" Bree had scowled as she pushed herself off the wall she was waiting against.

"Closure."

"For who, you? You don't need any closure, you need to stay away from creeps like him!"

"Not for me, for them. The other victims, the ones who weren't so lucky," Chase spared his sister a glance, "They all must have someone, and that someone needs to know what happened to their missing boy. Be it their son, grandson, brother, nephew –heck- friend. Someone out there needs answers, and I can give them."

"How did you know Son-of-Mine would help?"

At this the youngest Davenport smiled, "I had a feeling he'd like to brag and be all too willing to share."

Bree nodded, she understood. Chase had already found his closure, somewhere along the way he developed the ability to let go of his past. Sure it may crop up ever so often -it wasn't something completely wiped from existence- but it would be like an old demon he had already defeated.

"We'll be okay," Bree wrapped her arm around her little brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah we will."

* * *

**So, what did you think? Hopefully I covered everything! I tried to include everyone and tie together all of the loose ends I could think of!****Wow, it seems to weird to be at the end of the whole 'Mother' arc thing...I hope you enjoyed it!**

* * *

**Oh, **Violetta **being evil is a matter of your own opinion- like at the start, it's all a matter of perspective and perception. She doesn't care when people die, would have happily killed Mother etc. but she was as far on Chase's side as she would have been anyone's. That whole thing with her yelling at Mother was all of those years of pent up aggression etc. coming out. In the end she got a happy ending though :)**

Chase **was shaken out of neutral by Leo, because when something happens to someone in their family, the Davenport's _act. _Spike got him moving and thinking, but Leo got him acting...or ready to act. Yeah.**

**Okay so **Conner. **He had a terrible immune system, was always contracting viruses and illnesses. **Mother **hated the idea of always seeing, who she saw as her perfect child, getting so sick all the time- facing the harshness of reality- that **** she decided to kill him...in front of **Nolan** which emotionally scarred him and then started him on the process of becoming a cold blooded killer.**

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! They really make my day SO much BRIGHTER!  
You're all INCREDIBLE :)  
**

**Catch you next chapter, yeah? Bye!**


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